Team South Africa's top medal prospects at 2024 Olympic Games

Scheduled to take place from 27 July to 11 August, Team South Africa will be represented by a team of 230 athletes and support staff.

Having returned just three medals from Tokyo 2020 – two in swimming and one in surfing, a much improved performance is expected, with several high-profile athletes showing signs of challenging for podium places in Paris.

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Aquatics

Tatjana Smith

In her second appearance at the Games, Smith already has two Olympic medals to her name from Tokyo 2020, thereby making her one to watch in the pool next month.

The breaststroke specialist was relatively unknown in Tokyo, but now enters the waters as a genuine medal contender in the 100m and 200m breaststroke events.

The pressure is on for her to replicate her success from three years ago, and the county views her as a beacon of hope to lead Team SA.

Chad le Clos

The legendary swimmer is preparing to retire after his fourth Olympics, and will undoubtedly be out to conclude his career on a high with a medal, or a few.

The one-time Gold and three-time silver medalist has consistently performed at the highest level, but hasn't stepped on the Olympic podium since Rio 2016, and will certainly look to bow out by returning to the three-step platform.

Athletics

Akani Simbine

After narrowly missing out on a podium place, with fourth and fifth-place finishes in Tokyo 2020 and Rio 2016 respectively, Simbine has matured into a true contender.

He remains unbeaten in four official meetings in 2024 – two local and two international – running impressive sub-10 times of 9.90 and 9.94 seconds in recent meetings.

The South African 100m champion and record-holder is at the peak of his performance leading up to Paris, and, at 30 years old, has grown in experience and determination, with this tipped to be his year to shine on the big stage.

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Prudence Sekgodiso

Two victories in this year’s Diamond League has elevated her to within medal contention, as she clocked sub-two minutes not just once, but three times this year.

Poised to be the surprise package, Sekgodiso could follow in the footsteps of her role model Caster Semenya, a two-time Olympic gold medallist in the 800m.

Having qualified early and defended her SA national 800m title, the22-year-old is well prepared to run the race of her life.

4x100m relay

The team has previously been plagued by schoolboy errors such as dropped batons, improper exchanges, and a lack of cohesive training.  

However, this year, everything has gone according to plan, making them strong contenders for a podium finish in Paris.

Led by seven-time 100m national champion Akani Simbine, as well as the inclusion of Shaun Maswanganyi and Luxolo Adams alongside young talents Bradley Nkoana, Benjamin Richardson, and Bayanda Walaza could further strengthen the team's medal hopes.

They have one more training camp scheduled in France, in addition to the three they have already completed this year.  

Rugby 

Springbok Sevens

The Springboks' World Cup triumph in France has set the bar for both the women’s and men’s seven teams, who will be eager to contribute to the medal tally in Paris.

Despite going through the Olympic repechage in Monaco over the weekend, the Blitzboks

remain a force on the rugby sevens scene, and still have a strong chance of achieving success for Team SA at the Games.