The year 2024 has been quite an eventful and successful one for those carrying our flag at some of the biggest sporting events on this year’s calendar.
From the greatest team victories to the individual brilliance that places a special emphasis on the resilience and characters of our local athletes, many of these events have played a unique role in putting smiles on the face of the nation as we have celebrated the fact that we are proud to be called South Africans.
Before we officially close off the 2024 chapter, let us reflect on the moments that made us burst with pride as we look back on the success of South African sports in the last 12 months.
Springboks
Following a successful defence in France last year, the South African national rugby team, The Springboks have returned to 2024 to show exactly what earned them the title of being named the World Champions.
This comes as coach Dr. Rassie Erasmus made the bold move in expanding our game plan to complement our physical dominance, with a lethal attack by hiring New Zealander Tony Brown to take over the backline coaching duties. Not only has this seen their game plan evolve but they have successfully managed to win 11 out of 13 matches while continuously welcoming young players into the international stage. This has since seen them winning plenty of Silverware in the form of the Qatar Airways Cup, Nelson Mandela Plate, Freedom Cup, Rugby Championship, as well as the Prince William Cup.
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Olympics
This year’s Olympics took place in the beautiful French city of Paris, where some of South Africa’s top athletes took to one of the sporting stages in their various domains. It was here that South Africa managed to claim 6 medals. These were 1 gold, 2 Silver and 3 Bronze. It was also in this competition that one of the country’s most decorated Olympians, Tatjana Smith, announced her retirement putting to an end an outstanding career.
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Bafana Bafana
This year was not only a success for those in rugby and athletics as the national football team, but Bafana Bafana also had their name in history as well. This comes after they showed outstanding form to claim gold at this year’s African Cup of Nations tournament. This ultimately led to captain Ronwen Williams earning himself an award for goalkeeper of the year, as well as a nomination for the Yachine trophy at this year’s Ballon d’Or awards.
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