Tokyo 2020 Olympics Daily Review – 5 August 2021

Thursday’s Olympic action saw South Africa in action in the 4x100m relay, but it ended in tears as they did not finish due to a mix-up with the baton.

https://t.co/ay2x40QaxE | SA's 4x100m relay team drop baton in heats: 'There was a lot of confusion' South Africa's 4x100m relay team had an unfortunate mishap in their heat as they did not finish their race at the Tokyo Olympics. https://t.co/1Xvb0d32Ni

— Hendry Botha (@Hendrik05989397) August 5, 2021

Meanwhile, Kyle Blignaut represented the country with honour in the men’s shot put final, but was only able to manage a sixth-place finish.

Being among the top six shot put athletes in the world at the age of 21 is an ’awesome achievement’, says South African star Kyle Blignaut. #Tokyo2020 #Olympics #TeamSA

By @AshfakMohamed @IOLSport https://t.co/k0Ei5BpSCW

— IOL News (@IOL) August 5, 2021

There was an athlete with strong ties to South Africa who picked up a gold medal on Thursday, but not in the colours of Team SA. One can only congratulate Jean van der Westhuyzen, who won a shock gold medal in the Men’s K-2 1000m final for Australia alongside teammate Tom Green.