Cape Town - With warm wishes pouring in from across the country and the Western Cape well-represented, Team SA is ready for action as the Paris 2024 Olympics officially gets under way today.
The Olympic Games 2024 takes place exactly a century after Paris last hosted.
Team SA’s objective is still to perform their absolute best and raise the SA flag, just like they did in previous years.
The South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) announced a total of 138 athletes will represent Team SA in 19 different codes including gymnastics, rugby sevens, swimming, surfing, canoeing, climbing, and athletics.
For a variety of codes, the team additionally has nine reserve players.
Well-wishes have been flooding in for the top athletes.
Chairperson of the portfolio committee on sports, arts, and culture, Joe McGluwa, wished Team SA well on their expedition and expressed his belief that they would return home with several medals.
“We are happy that the team will compete with medal contenders such as Gerda Steyn, Wayde van Niekerk, Akani Simbine, Luxolo Adams, Chad Le Clos, Tatjana Smith and many others. These athletes must draw from the success of the Springboks team in the Rugby World Cup in France in November 2023,” McGluwa said.
Minister of Sports, Arts, and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, said everything was in place for Team SA.
Speaking to the media in Paris yesterday, McKenzie complimented the French government on a job well done in organising the historic event.
“South Africans in attendance, including our athletes, feel safe. We are eagerly anticipating showcasing the fantastic designs of our team’s official kits, thanks to our sponsors, who have ensured that the athletes represent Team South Africa admirably.”
South Africans have many options since the Olympic Games will be broadcast on both the SABC’s TV stations and the SABC Plus streaming app, following the awarding of broadcast rights to the SABC.
Team SA will have an array of athletes from the Western Cape representing.
Stellenbosch local, 36-year-old Mathrin Simmers, is one of the oldest members of the Team SA women’s sevens.
After qualifying but withdrawing from Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020, South Africa is sending a woman’s sevens rugby side to an Olympics for the first time.
“We’ve got a lot of strong ball runners, and we’ve also assembled a squad that has got speed in it. Things will be tough, but we’re going to give it our best,” Simmers said.
The Blazeboks Imbokodo shares a pool with the likes of Australia, Ireland and Great Britain.
“Our message to our supporters back home will be that we’re going to be competitive and not leave anything out on the field. I don’t think I can ask for more from the girls as co-captain,” Simmers said.
Seven University of the Western Cape (UWC) community members are also realising their dream of participating in different events.
One of them is current student Ryan Julius, who is once again representing Team SA in hockey, his second Olympics in a row.
Tristan Leyds, a former UWC student who represented UWC in the Varsity Cup, is a member of the sevens rugby squad.
He is the younger brother of Springbok and two-time Champion Cup winner with La Rochelle, Dillyn Leyds.
After losing to Ireland and New Zealand earlier in the tournament, the Blitzboks defeated Japan 49–5 in their last Pool A game yesterday to secure a spot in the quarter-finals.
Other inclusions from UWC are Jenna Morkel, the technical analyst for the women’s rugby squad, and Lynn Abrahamse, the manager of the national women’s hockey team who is part of Team SA.
Tatjana Smith (née Schoenmaker), won the gold medal in the 200m breaststroke at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, in addition to claiming a silver medal in the 100m breaststroke.
She is now bidding to become the first South African Olympic champion to retain her top spot on the podium in Paris.
The 27-year-old admits that carrying the hopes of the nation is immense, but that she is taking it all in her stride.
“It’s not easy,” Smith said in a video released by Team SA from the Athletes’ Village.
“It’s a daily thing that you have to tell yourself... you’re not swimming for others’ expectations. Sometimes my expectations are higher than those.
“It’s really just coming back to it, and for me just trusting in God and knowing his plan will work out... that I can just prepare as well as I can.
“It’s about how we react to it and how we see it, and how positive we stay in those situations that counts. I know it’s going to go well, and I’m preparing well.”
Smith begins her 2024 Olympic campaign in the Paris La Defense Arena on Sunday morning with the 100m breaststroke heats.
byron.lukas@inl.co.za