Thompson wins GOLD in record time at Youth Games By GARY LEMKE Team SA doubled their medals tally on day two of the Commonwealth Young Games in Trinidad & Tobago, with swimmer Jessica Thompson adding to cycling’s Miles Liebenberg’s gold from Saturday. Thompson laid down her own marker ahead of the upcoming World Juniors in Israel by twice breaking Erin Gallagher’s Commonwealth Youth Games record in Trinidad’s National Aquatic Centre. In the morning heats she lowered the record to 26.89 seconds and then went even faster a couple of hours later with a 26.84 swim. That saw her claim Team...

Swimming’s Jessica Thompson (pictured) took Team SA’s medals tally to two when she claimed the GOLD medal in the women’s 50m butterfly at the 2023 Commonwealth Youth Games in Trinidad and Tobago. This is a summary of how Team SA fared on day 2 of competition. Day 2 (Sun): How Team SA fared at Commonwealth Youth Games BEACH VOLLEYBALLJayden Cupido and Valaitham Deloshen (men) lost 2-0 to Jett Rocker-Graham and Mitchell Croft of Australia (21-13, 21-0)Jayden Cupido and Valaitham Deloshen (men) won 2-0 against Julian Bristol and Sundar Prakash of Pakistan (21-16, 22-20) RUGBY SEVENSMen’s...

"A delightful, kind person, who rose above unbelievable adversity to become the superstar that she was." South Africa’s sporting fraternity is reeling with the news that one of its most celebrated daughters has died. News of Zanele Situ’s passing at the age of 52 has been met with extreme sadness for the Paralympic icon. Born Ntombizanele Situ on 19th January 1971 in the Eastern Cape town of Matatiele, “Zanele” was one of the country’s best known Paralympians and an inspiration to a generation. In 2000 she became the first black South African female athlete to win a Paralympic gold medal,...

First medals arrive for Team SA at African Games Team SA got on the medals table at the 13th African Games on Thursday, with three bagged – two coming from karate and one from table tennis. It was karate’s Maxine Willemse who won bronze in the women’s individual kata and that was followed by the men’s kata team of Jesse Sim, Bongi Ngwenya and Bradley Ho Tong, who combined to take bronze as well. In the women’s team table tennis event, Danisha Patel, Musfiquh Kalam and Rochica Sonday picked up the bronze medal. They beat hosts Ghana in a compelling 3-2 quarter-final, before going down 3-0 to...

First medals arrive for Team SA at African Games Team SA got on the medals table at the 13th African Games on Thursday, with three bagged – two coming from karate and one from table tennis. It was karate’s Maxine Willemse who won bronze in the women’s individual kata and that was followed by the men’s kata team of Jesse Sim, Bongi Ngwenya and Bradley Ho Tong, who combined to take bronze as well. In the women’s team table tennis event, Danisha Patel, Musfiquh Kalam and Rochica Sonday picked up the bronze medal. They beat hosts Ghana in a compelling 3-2 quarter-final, before going down 3-0 to...

GOLD! Preen wins road race for Team SA Team SA were again in action on Saturday at the 13th African Games. Haylee Preen has won GOLD in the women’s road race cycling. That takes Team SA’s medals tally at these games to six – one gold and five bronze medals. In the swimming pool Team SA made an immediate impression qualifying fastest for the evening finals in the and will be looking to get their medals tally going on their opening day of competition. “It was an amazing race and my teammates were amazing,” said Preen, Team SA’s first gold medallist at these Games. “We worked together...

GOLD! Preen wins road race for Team SA Team SA were again in action on Saturday at the 13th African Games. Haylee Preen has won GOLD in the women’s road race cycling. That takes Team SA’s medals tally at these games to six – one gold and five bronze medals. In the swimming pool Team SA made an immediate impression qualifying fastest for the evening finals in the and will be looking to get their medals tally going on their opening day of competition. “It was an amazing race and my teammates were amazing,” said Preen, Team SA’s first gold medallist at these Games. “We worked together...

Cycling, beach volleyball add silver linings for Team SA Although it was a quieter day for Team SA in terms of codes and competitors in action at the 13th African Games, that doesn’t mean the medals table didn’t keep ticking over. Team SA were represented by only two codes in Accra on Thursday – beach volleyball and cycling. Both added to the medals tally and contributed with three silvers to take the overall total to 81. On Thursday, the women’s team of Haylee Preen, Sonica Klopper, Annike Visser and Lucy Young surged to the silver medal behind Eritrea in the 37.5km Women’s Time-Trial Under-23...

Cycling, beach volleyball add silver linings for Team SA Although it was a quieter day for Team SA in terms of codes and competitors in action at the 13th African Games, that doesn’t mean the medals table didn’t keep ticking over. Team SA were represented by only two codes in Accra on Thursday – beach volleyball and cycling. Both added to the medals tally and contributed with three silvers to take the overall total to 81. On Thursday, the women’s team of Haylee Preen, Sonica Klopper, Annike Visser and Lucy Young surged to the silver medal behind Eritrea in the 37.5km Women’s Time-Trial Under-23...

By GARY LEMKE Not often does a code have a 100 percent return from the number of athletes they send to compete, but the quartet of Team SA triathletes did their country proud when dominating their competition at the 13th African Games in Accra. Both Vicky van der Merwe and Nicholas Quenet won gold medals – taking Team SA’s total of medals form an overnight 81 to 83 – and they were followed home in their respective events by Sharne Williams (silver) and Dylan Nortje (bronze). Those medals took Team SA to 85 and surpassed the total number of medals (83) achieved in Morocco in 2019. The 34-year-old...

By GARY LEMKE Not often does a code have a 100 percent return from the number of athletes they send to compete, but the quartet of Team SA triathletes did their country proud when dominating their competition at the 13th African Games in Accra. Both Vicky van der Merwe and Nicholas Quenet won gold medals – taking Team SA’s total of medals form an overnight 81 to 83 – and they were followed home in their respective events by Sharne Williams (silver) and Dylan Nortje (bronze). Those medals took Team SA to 85 and surpassed the total number of medals (83) achieved in Morocco in 2019. The 34-year-old...

Jo-Ann van Dyk threw a Games record distance in the women’s javelin to add another gold medal to Team SA’s tally at the African Games in Accra, Ghana, on Wednesday. Van Dyk launched the javelin 60.80m, with teammate Jana van Schalkwyk claiming silver with a throw of 57.64m. Team SA had started the day with 96 medals, and athletics had three of them, all gold. That total has now stretched to 98 medals. There was also action in the men’s cricket where Team SA came up against Uganda in Pool A. Team SA won the toss and batted first, and scored 95 for 9 in their 20 overs. For the third successive...

Financial incentives available to all medallists from both the Olympics and Paralympics An initial squad of 39 members across seven codes has been named to represent Team SA at the Paris Olympics in July. The sports represented in the first list are aquatics, athletics, canoeing, gymnastics, sport climbing, surfing, and wrestling. Qualifying is ongoing among a number of different sports, and even those who are listed below may change in terms of additions. In making the announcement in Johannesburg on Wednesday, the South African Sports Confederation, Olympic and Paralympic Committee (SASCOC)...

Financial incentives available to all medallists from both the Olympics and Paralympics An initial squad of 39 members across seven codes has been named to represent Team SA at the Paris Olympics in July. The sports represented in the first list are aquatics, athletics, canoeing, gymnastics, sport climbing, surfing, and wrestling. Qualifying is ongoing among a number of different sports, and even those who are listed below may change in terms of additions. In making the announcement in Johannesburg on Wednesday, the South African Sports Confederation, Olympic and Paralympic Committee (SASCOC)...

  Team South Africa Hockey teams named for the Paris Olympic Games On Wednesday evening in Johannesburg, SASCOC announced the next batch of Team South Africa athletes for the Olympic Games in Paris. The teams announced included the Team SA Hockey Men and Women’s team that will be taking part in field hockey tournament at the Olympic Games. The SA Women will be participating for the 6th time at the Paris Olympic having debuted in 2000. Giles Bonnet will become the first coach to lead the team to the games twice having previously overseen the SA Women’s team at the London 2012 Olympic Games. The...

The South African Sports Confederation, Olympic and Paralympic Committee (SASCOC) gave Team South Africa’s representation for the Paris Olympics a considerable boost when additional names and sporting codes were revealed at Wednesday’s second announcement in Johannesburg. In addition, SASCOC further revealed financial incentives for medallists. Filled with pride, Mr Barry Hendricks, President of the South African Sports Confederation, Olympic and Paralympic Committee (SASCOC), announced the list of athletes, stating, “This is a significant step in acknowledging the remarkable achievements...

With three weeks to the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, on Friday, July 5th, the South African Sports Confederation, Olympic and Paralympic Committee (SASCOC) provided an updated list of athletes and management that have been selected to represent Team South Africa. The names of 27 athletes were added to the list that was previously announced. It should be highlighted that the Rugby Sevens Men has named a preliminary squad of 16, which will be cut down to the final squad of 12 and 2 reserves will travel to Paris. With the inclusion of the 16 Rugby Sevens Men players, the...

Exciting Announcement from Team South Africa!  We are thrilled to announce that Paige Badenhorst will be representing South Africa in the Women's Single Scull at the Paris 2024 Olympics! Paige's journey has been nothing short of inspiring. From her early days at St Andrew's School for Girls in Senderwood, to representing Michigan University, Cambridge University, and now the University of Pretoria, she has shown incredible dedication and perseverance. As a member of the RMB National Squad, Paige has made significant contributions and we couldn't be prouder of her achievements. Having...

You’ve probably heard the expression of getting back on your bike after a fall. It’s a way of saying that when life comes at you and knocks you down, stand up, dust yourself off and carry on again.

Jordy Smith looks at the cover of the magazine. The underwater image is of a surfer and the headline reads: “He Walks On Water. And surfing’s new god is South African.”