No DNA, Just RSA: 2024 was a movie
2024 has been a year of all-round brilliance for South Africa and it can be summed up with one exceptional term, ‘No DNA, Just RSA’.
From a UFC Middleweight Championship to a local popstar becoming a global megastar; it’s safe to say South Africa has had a crazy year, and it's something we should be super proud of.
The term ‘No DNA, Just RSA’ was first coined by X user @Kay_Mahapa and is the new slogan that embodies South African exceptionalism amid all our grand achievements; and 2024 was the embodiment of South African exceptionalism.
Here’s a look back at some of our achievements in 2024:
Dricus ‘Stillknocks’ Du Plessis: A colossal achievement is that of our UFC Middleweight champion, Dricus Du Plessis, who started the year off by successfully defeating Sean Strickland. He then defended his title against the acclaimed Israel Adesanya; a defeat that lost Drake a whole lot of money. See, it's that RSA in our veins.
TYLA: Tyla has shaken the world this year. This year alone, the songstress has won a Grammy, two BET Awards, an MTV VMA, a Billboard Global Force Award, three SAMAs, three MTV EMAs, and is nominated for eight Billboard Music Awards – something no other African artist has ever achieved. Her song ‘Jump’ even made it onto Barack Obama’s 2024 Summer Playlist. Furthermore, Tyla’s ‘Water’ achieved 52 weeks at #1 on the Billboard Afrobeat Charts. Even more recently, Rolling Stone Magazine named her debut album ‘TYLA’ the sixth best album of 2024. What the heck?
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Tatjana Smith: Tatjana Smith became South Africa’s most decorated Olympian. In 2024, she won two Olympic medals at the Paris 2024 Games and set a new world record in the 100m Breaststroke. She was also recently honoured by President Cyril Ramaphosa with the Shield of Jove, the biggest honour in South African Sports. That's a pretty big deal considering most of us didn't know this shield existed.
Bayanda Walaza: Deemed the fastest teenager in the world, he was the youngest member of the 4x100-metre relay team that won silver at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. He then won gold at the World Athletics U20 Championships after clocking in at 10.19 seconds in the final; making him the fastest teenager in the WORLD. Oh, and did I mention he achieved all of this is his matric year? Yeah – No DNA, Just RSA.
The list of exceptionalism goes on and on, but there’s also one very important achievement that we made as a country this year.
It’s almost been a full year without loadshedding! It honestly doesn’t feel real, but it is.
2024 marked 30 years of our democracy and has been a pivotal turning point in all aspects of our nation. As South Africans, we ought to be proud of all we’ve achieved and be inspired to love our nation and continue to strive for exceptionalism.
And remember; whatever happens, South Africa is the greatest nation in the world, and we're blessed to call this our home.
#NoDNAJustRSA
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