# South Africa at the Olympics

South Africa first participated at the Olympic Games in 1904, and sent athletes to compete in every Summer Olympic Games until 1960. After the passage of United Nations General Assembly Resolution 1761 in 1962 in response to South Africa's policy of apartheid, the nation was barred from the Games. After the negotiations to end apartheid in South Africa commenced in 1990, the nation re-joined the Olympic movement. The South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee was created in 1991, and South Africa returned to the Games at the 1992 Summer Olympics (and the 1992 Summer Paralympics). South Africa also participated in the Winter Olympic Games in 1960, and since 1994. South African athletes have won a total of 95 medals, with athletics, boxing, and swimming as the top medal-producing sports.

## History

South African athletes first participated in the 1904 Summer Olympics in St. Louis, when few foreign athletes arrived and the organisers invited participants of the adjacent 1904 World's Fair to compete. General Piet Cronjé, Len Taunyane, and Jan Mashiani, all Boer War veterans who had been taken prisoner by the British at St. Helena after the Battle of Paardeberg and had reenacted battle scenes at the fair, participated in the men's marathon. Len Taunyane and Jan Mashiani were the first black Africans to participate in the Olympics, and the only black people to represent South Africa in the Olympics until the end of apartheid.
Although the four British colonies of Cape of Good Hope, Natal, Transvaal, and Orange River did not form the Union of South Africa until 1910, they fielded a combined South Africa team at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, where Reggie Walker won its first gold medal. The first South African woman in the Olympics was swimmer Barbara Nash in 1920, and the first women to win medals were the 1928 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay quartet, who came third. The South African Olympic and Empire Games Association was awarded the 1934 British Empire Games in Johannesburg but backed out when it became evident that they would have to allow a team from India to compete.
South Africa first entered the Winter Olympics in 1960, and that summer's games in Rome would be its last till the end of apartheid. It was not invited to the 1964 Games, and its 1968 invitation was withdrawn when other teams threatened to withdraw. The South African Olympic and National Games Association was expelled from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1970.
The nonracial Interim National Olympic Committee of South Africa (now South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee) was founded in 1991 during the transition to multiracial equality and affiliated to the IOC months later. The country returned at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.

## Medal tables
### Medals by sport

| Sport | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| Athletics | 9 | 15 | 6 | 30 |
| Swimming | 8 | 8 | 6 | 22 |
| Boxing | 6 | 4 | 9 | 19 |
| Tennis | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| Cycling | 1 | 4 | 4 | 9 |
| Rowing | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Shooting | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Surfing | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Rugby | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Canoeing | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Triathlon | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (11 entries) | 28 | 36 | 31 | 95 |

## List of medalists

| Medal | Name | Games | Sport | Event |
| Gold | Reggie Walker | 1908 London | Athletics | Men's 100m |
| Silver | Charles Hefferon | 1908 London | Athletics | Men's Marathon |
| Gold | Ken McArthur | 1912 Stockholm | Athletics | Men's Marathon |
| Gold | Rudolph Lewis | 1912 Stockholm | Cycling | Men's Individual Time Trial |
| Gold | Harold Kitson Charles Winslow | 1912 Stockholm | Tennis | Men's Doubles Outdoor |
| Gold | Charles Winslow | 1912 Stockholm | Tennis | Men's Singles Outdoor |
| Silver | Christian Gitsham | 1912 Stockholm | Athletics | Men's Marathon |
| Silver | Harold Kitson | 1912 Stockholm | Tennis | Men's Singles Outdoor |
| Gold | Bevil Rudd | 1920 Antwerp | Athletics | Men's 400m |
| Gold | Clarence Walker | 1920 Antwerp | Boxing | Men's Bantamweight |
| Gold | Louis Raymond | 1920 Antwerp | Tennis | Men's Singles |
| Silver | Henry Dafel Jack Oosterlak Clarence Oldfield Bevil Rudd | 1920 Antwerp | Athletics | Men's 4 × 400m Relay |
| Silver | Henry Kaltenbrunn | 1920 Antwerp | Cycling | Men's Individual Time Trial |
| Silver | William Smith James Walker | 1920 Antwerp | Cycling | Men's Tandem |
| Silver | David Smith Robert Bodley Ferdinand Buchanan Frederick Morgan | 1920 Antwerp | Shooting | Men's Team 600m Military Rifle |
| Bronze | Bevil Rudd | 1920 Antwerp | Athletics | Men's 800m |
| Bronze | James Walker William Smith Henry Kaltenbrunn Harry Goosen | 1920 Antwerp | Cycling | Team Pursuit |
| Bronze | Charles Winslow | 1920 Antwerp | Tennis | Men's Singles |
| Gold | William Smith | 1924 Paris | Boxing | Men's Bantamweight |
| Silver | Sydney Atkinson | 1924 Paris | Athletics | Men's 110m Hurdles |
| Bronze | Cecil McMaster | 1924 Paris | Athletics | Men's 10 Km Walk |
| Gold | Sydney Atkinson | 1928 Amsterdam | Athletics | Men's 110m Hurdles |
| Bronze | Harry Isaacs | 1928 Amsterdam | Boxing | Men's Bantamweight |
| Bronze | Rhoda Rennie Frederica van der Goes Mary Bedford Kathleen Russell | 1928 Amsterdam | Swimming | Women's 4 × 100m Freestyle Relay |
| Gold | Lawrence Stevens | 1932 Los Angeles | Boxing | Men's lightweight |
| Gold | David Carstens | 1932 Los Angeles | Boxing | Men's light-heavyweight |
| Bronze | Marjorie Clark | 1932 Los Angeles | Athletics | Women's 80m hurdles |
| Bronze | Ernest Peirce | 1932 Los Angeles | Boxing | Men's middleweight |
| Bronze | Jenny Maakal | 1932 Los Angeles | Swimming | Women's 400m freestyle |
| Silver | Charles Catterall | 1936 Berlin | Boxing | Men's featherweight |
| Gold | Gerald Dreyer | 1948 London | Boxing | Men's lightweight |
| Gold | George Hunter | 1948 London | Boxing | Men's light-heavyweight |
| Silver | Dennis Shepherd | 1948 London | Boxing | Men's featherweight |
| Bronze | John Arthur | 1948 London | Boxing | Men's heavyweight |
| Gold | Esther Brand | 1952 Helsinki | Athletics | Women's high jump |
| Gold | Joan Harrison | 1952 Helsinki | Swimming | Women's 100m backstroke |
| Silver | Daphne Robb-Hasenjäger | 1952 Helsinki | Athletics | Women's 100m |
| Silver | Theunis Van Schalkwyk | 1952 Helsinki | Boxing | Men's light-middleweight |
| Silver | Raymond Robinson Thomas Shardelow | 1952 Helsinki | Cycling (Track) | Men's 2000m tandem |
| Silver | George Estman Robert Fowler Thomas Shardelow Alfred Swift | 1952 Helsinki | Cycling (Track) | Men's team pursuit (4000m) |
| Bronze | William Toweel | 1952 Helsinki | Boxing | Men's flyweight |
| Bronze | Leonard Leisching | 1952 Helsinki | Boxing | Men's featherweight |
| Bronze | Andries Nieman | 1952 Helsinki | Boxing | Men's heavyweight |
| Bronze | Raymond Robinson | 1952 Helsinki | Cycling (Track) | Men's 1 km time trial |
| Bronze | Daniel Bekker | 1956 Melbourne/Stockholm | Boxing | Men's heavyweight |
| Bronze | Henry Loubscher | 1956 Melbourne/Stockholm | Boxing | Men's light-welterweight |
| Bronze | Alfred Swift | 1956 Melbourne/Stockholm | Cycling (Track) | Men's 1 km time trial |
| Bronze | Moira Abernethy Jeanette Myburgh Natalie Myburgh Susan Elizabeth Roberts | 1956 Melbourne/Stockholm | Swimming | Women's 4 × 100m freestyle relay |
| Silver | Daniel Bekker | 1960 Rome | Boxing | Men's heavyweight |
| Bronze | Malcolm Clive Spence | 1960 Rome | Athletics | Men's 400m |
| Bronze | William Meyers | 1960 Rome | Boxing | Men's featherweight |
| Silver | Elana Meyer | 1992 Barcelona | Athletics | Women's 10,000m |
| Silver | Wayne Ferreira Piet Norval | 1992 Barcelona | Tennis | Men's Doubles |
| Gold | Josia Thugwane | 1996 Atlanta | Athletics | Men's marathon |
| Gold | Penelope Heyns | 1996 Atlanta | Swimming | Women's 100m breaststroke |
| Gold | Penelope Heyns | 1996 Atlanta | Swimming | Women's 200m breaststroke |
| Silver | Hezekiel Sepeng | 1996 Atlanta | Athletics | Men's 800m |
| Bronze | Marianne Kriel | 1996 Atlanta | Swimming | Women's 100m backstroke |
| Silver | Hestrie Cloete | 2000 Sydney | Athletics | Women's high jump |
| Silver | Terence Parkin | 2000 Sydney | Swimming | Men's 200m breaststroke |
| Bronze | Llewellyn Herbert | 2000 Sydney | Athletics | Men's 400m hurdles |
| Bronze | Frantz Kruger | 2000 Sydney | Athletics | Men's discus throw |
| Bronze | Penelope Heyns | 2000 Sydney | Swimming | Women's 100m breaststroke |
| Gold | Lyndon Ferns Ryk Neethling Roland Mark Schoeman Darian Townsend | 2004 Athens | Swimming | Men's 4 × 100m freestyle relay |
| Silver | Mbulaeni Mulaudzi | 2004 Athens | Athletics | Men's 800m |
| Silver | Hestrie Cloete | 2004 Athens | Athletics | Women's high jump |
| Silver | Roland Mark Schoeman | 2004 Athens | Swimming | Men's 100m freestyle |
| Bronze | Donovan Cech Ramon di Clemente | 2004 Athens | Rowing | Men's coxless pair |
| Bronze | Roland Mark Schoeman | 2004 Athens | Swimming | Men's 50m freestyle |
| Silver | Khotso Mokoena | 2008 Beijing | Athletics | Men's long jump |
| Gold | Sizwe Ndlovu Matthew Brittain John Smith James Thompson | 2012 London | Rowing | Men's Lightweight Four |
| Gold | Cameron van der Burgh | 2012 London | Swimming | Men's 100m breaststroke |
| Gold | Chad le Clos | 2012 London | Swimming | Men's 200m butterfly |
| Gold | Caster Semenya | 2012 London | Athletics | Women's 800m |
| Silver | Chad le Clos | 2012 London | Swimming | Men's 100m butterfly |
| Bronze | Bridgitte Hartley | 2012 London | Canoeing | Women's K-1 500m |
| Gold | Wayde Van Niekerk | 2016 Rio de Janeiro | Athletics | Men's 400m |
| Gold | Caster Semenya | 2016 Rio de Janeiro | Athletics | Women's 800m |
| Silver | Chad le Clos | 2016 Rio de Janeiro | Swimming | Men's 200m freestyle |
| Silver | Shaun Keeling Lawrence Brittain | 2016 Rio de Janeiro | Rowing | Men's coxless pair |
| Silver | Chad le Clos | 2016 Rio de Janeiro | Swimming | Men's 100m butterfly |
| Silver | Cameron van der Burgh | 2016 Rio de Janeiro | Swimming | Men's 100m breaststroke |
| Silver | Luvo Manyonga | 2016 Rio de Janeiro | Athletics | Men's long jump |
| Silver | Sunette Viljoen | 2016 Rio de Janeiro | Athletics | Women's javelin throw |
| Bronze | Cheslin Kolbe Juan de Jongh Seabelo Senatla Justin Geduld Kyle Brown Cecil Afrika Kwagga Smith Werner Kok Rosko Specman Philip Snyman Dylan Sage Francois Hougaard Tim Agaba | 2016 Rio de Janeiro | Rugby Sevens | Men's tournament |
| Bronze | Henri Schoeman | 2016 Rio de Janeiro | Triathlon | Men's Triathlon |
| Gold | Tatjana Schoenmaker | 2020 Tokyo | Swimming | Women's 200m breaststroke |
| Silver | Tatjana Schoenmaker | 2020 Tokyo | Swimming | Women's 100m breaststroke |
| Silver | Bianca Buitendag | 2020 Tokyo | Surfing | Women's Shortboard |
| Gold | Tatjana Smith | 2024 Paris | Swimming | Women's 100m breaststroke |
| Silver | Tatjana Smith | 2024 Paris | Swimming | Women's 200m breaststroke |
| Silver | Jo-Ann Van Dyk | 2024 Paris | Athletics | Women's javelin throw |
| Silver | Bayanda Walaza Shaun Maswanganyi Bradley Nkoana Akani Simbine | 2024 Paris | Athletics | Men's 4 × 100m relay |
| Bronze | Alan Hatherly | 2024 Paris | Cycling | Men's cross-country |
| Bronze | Christie Grobbelaar Ryan Oosthuizen Impi Visser Zain Davids Quewin Nortje Tiaan Pretorius Tristan Leyds Selvyn Davids Shaun Williams Rosko Specman Siviwe Soyizwapi Shilton van Wyk Ronald Brown | 2024 Paris | Rugby sevens | Men's tournament |