We are 10 days into the Olympic games, and competition levels are higher than ever before. Athletes are tested not just physically but mentally and emotionally as well, and those who are not in the right mentality will be revealed through performances.
Although the podium is the ultimate goal, personal improvement and growth are also as important, as they help give an idea of where athletes are in terms of competition. Team South Africa has shown that they can hang with the best this past week, as our athletes gave their best in their respective sporting codes.
Here is a quick recap of how South Africa did in the Olympic Games this past week.
Swimming
Proving to be one of our stronger sports, our swimmers flew the South African flag high, securing two out of the four medals SA has tallied up so far. Tatjana Smith, the breaststroke specialist did what she does best, and secured her second medal of the tournament in the women’s 200m breaststroke.
She then announced her retirement from competitive swimming.
Although he finished 5th overall, Pieter Coetze demonstrated his competitive and winning spirit by shattering his own African record in the men’s 100m backstroke with a time of 52.8 seconds.
Chad le Clos placed second in the men’s 100m butterfly, despite dealing with a shoulder injury. Mathew Sates finished seventh in the same race, and unfortunately, both athletes did not qualify for the next round.
Mountain Biking
Doubling South Africa’s total medal tally from one to two was Alan Hatherly, who managed to secure the bronze medal in the mountain biking cross-country event. Britain’s Tom Pidcock won the gold while France’s Victor Koretzky snatched the silver.
Alan secured South Africa its first cycling medal since its isolation back in 1992.
Track and field
South African athletics is on an upward trajectory, as this year’s results, although not yielding a podium finish as yet, have been more than desirable.
Prudence Sekgodiso kicked it off with an impressive second-place finish in the second heat of the women’s 800m race. She comfortably finished with a time of 1:59.84, which was enough for her to qualify for the semi-finals. She now hopes to add to South Africa’s total tally with a medal of her own.
Sprinters Akani Simbine, Shaun Maswangayi and Benjamin Richardson did enough to qualify for the semi-finals, however did not qualify for the finals. This is despite Benjamin finishing third in his race with a time of 9.95 seconds, proving the level of competition in these races.
Akani Simbine made it all the way to the finals, where he finished just 0.02 seconds behind the bronze medalist, placing fourth overall and missing the podium literally by less than a split second. He managed to secure the national record, making a case for him as potentially South Africa’s best sprinter thus far.
Rogail Joseph and Zeney Geldenhuys add to Mzansi’s hopes of a medal after both qualifying for the women’s 400m hurdle semi-final.
The South African athletes have made their country immensely proud as internet users by the hundreds take to the comments of Team South Africa’s official Instagram page to send congratulatory messages and well wishes.
Athletes who did not qualify for the next rounds also made their countrymen proud, as we all know, qualifying for the Olympics is no easy feat. The women’s field hockey team has come to the end of their Olympic journey after a 1-0 loss against the USA.
Paige Badenhorst placed 14th overall in the women’s Scull C final (rowing) after coming second in her event.
Also see: Recap of the first weekend of the Olympic Games for SA
