Paris Games Recap: How Team SA came home with six medals

Mzansi celebrated one gold, three silvers and two bronze medals after two weeks of events in the French capital. The haul sees South Africa finish tied 44th on the medals table with Jamaica and Thailand. At the Tokyo Games in 2020, Team SA came home with three medals.

The global showpiece started brightly for the Men's Rugby Sevens team. Having been the last team to qualify for the Olympics, hopes were tempered. But the Blitsboks upset favourites New Zealand in the quarterfinals and then Australia in the Bronze medal playoff to claim South Africa's first medal.

Team SA then picked up another bronze in the Men's Cross Country Mountain biking. Riding in his third Olympic Games, Alan Hatherly of Durban finished just 11 seconds off a gold medal in the 35km race.

South Africa then turned its attention to the pool, where defending Olympic champion in the women's 200m breaststroke, Tajana Smith, was ready to make a splash. The Johannesburg native first won gold in the 100m breaststroke and while she was the favourite in the 200m, she was edged by American Kate Douglass, settling for the silver medal. Smith retired from swimming after the event, content with her four Olympic medals over two Games.

The Athletics got underway in the second week in Paris, with many hopes resting on sprinter Akani Simbine. He would have to be patient, but the nearly man finally earned an Olympic medal with his teammates in the chaotic Men's 4x100m Relay Final.

Teenagers Bayanda Walaza and Bradley Nkoana teamed up with Shaun Maswangani for the opening legs, then an incredible run from Simbine in the anchor leg earned them a silver medal behind Canada.

Finally, javelin thrower Jo-Ane van Dyk would impress in the women's Javelin Final on Saturday. There were signs of form with a career-best throw of 64.22m in the qualifiers and the 26-year-old carried that into the final. Managing 63.93m when it mattered, van Dyk sealed a silver medal behind Haruka Kitaguchi who threw 65.80m.

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