Olympics ’24: Team SA ’should be proud’ of Paris performance
South Africans should be proud of the country’s performance at the Olympic Games in Paris, a local sports journalist has said.
Nearly 150 athletes represented Team South Africa during the country's 21st appearance at the Olympic Games.
The country won six medals (one gold, three silver and two bronze) - a notable increase in comparison to the Tokyo Olympics, where the country only managed to bag three medals.
Tatjana Smith bowed out with gold in the 100m breaststroke and silver in the 200m breaststroke, switching her podium positions from Tokyo.
In the process, she became South Africa's most decorated Olympian.
On the athletics track, Bayanda Walaza, Shaun Maswanganyi, Bradley Nkoana, and Akani Simbine bagged silver medals in the 4x100m relay.
The country's Rugby Sevens team also won a silver medal.
Sports journalist Ockert de Villiers says it is encouraging that the medals came from different sports.
“The last Olympics we only had three medals and two of those only came from Tatjana. We have a pretty good spread across different sports, we had swimming, athletes etc.
"We should start investing in our athletes. We need to have proper systems and programs in place otherwise we are going to remain inconsistent.
"We need to have a program in place, it does not need to cost a lot of money. You know, it’s not just about medals, it is about investing in our sports and developing our young people.”
