Olympics 2020 – South African Medal Hopefuls

After being postponed in 2020, all signs currently point to the Tokyo Olympics moving ahead this year, despite rising COVID-19 cases in Japan’s capital city leading to a third state of emergency for the city. The action starts on Wednesday, 21 July with group matches in the women’s football and softball competitions.

We take a closer look at some of South Africa’s leading medal contenders.

Akani Simbine

South African sprinter Akani Simbine has reached peak form ahead of the Olympic Games in Tokyo. He recently obliterated the field in a 100m event at the Gyulai Istvan Memorial meet in Hungary earlier this month. Simbine sprinted home in a new South African record of 9.84 seconds and beat the African record of 9.85.

Simbine was a World Championships finalist in the men’s 100 metres in 2017 (fifth) and 2019 (fourth) and was 100 metres champion at the 2018 African Championships and 2018 Commonwealth Games. In the 4 × 100 metres relay he, helped South Africa become champions at the African Championships in 2016 and 2018. The team were placed second at the 2018 Commonwealth Games with a South African record time of 38.24 seconds. He then helped South Africa to gold at the 2021 World Relays.

Tatjana Schoenmaker

One of the worst blemishes in South African sport in recent decades has been the failure to find women swimmers who are as good as the country’s elite men. But that problem is being rectified, as is evident by the rapid rise of Schoenmaker who is leading the charge in a welcome resurgence by the nation’s female swimmers.

The 23-year-old breaststroke specialist is a double Commonwealth Games champion, a World Cup winner and a World Championships medallist, and her record-breaking form this season has placed her firmly in line for two potential medals at the Games.

4x100m Relay

With the depth South Africa has developed in recent years, the country’s best opportunity on the track will probably be in the sprint relay. Coached by Paul Gorries, the squad includes the likes of Akani Simbine, Wayde Van Niekerk, Clarence Munyai, Lux Adams, Henricho Bruintjies, Simon Magakwe and Anaso Jobodwana among others and they’ve definitely got the quality and the quantity to give it a shot.

Blitzboks

There are no guarantees in sport, but if the national team does not get a medal in the rugby sevens competition, it will be a real disappointment. In the last eight seasons of the World Rugby Sevens Series, they have finished either first or second in seven campaigns. At the Rio Games in 2016, when sevens rugby made its Olympic debut, the Blitzboks earned the bronze medal, and they’ll be eager to reach the final this time around.

Garrick Higgo

In May of this year, Higgo made history in Spain when he clinched two titles in three weeks on the European Tour, becoming the fastest South African to three European Tour wins. The 22-year-old soon after made his Major debut at the PGA Championship, where he made the cut and finished T64. He then accepted the commissioner’s exemption to compete at the Palmetto Championship at Congaree and stunned the field to win by one shot. The South African became the first player to win in one of his first two career PGA Tour starts since Jim Benepe won the 1988 BMW Championship in his Tour debut.