by Ashfak Mohamed
Feel it, the Rio Olympics is here! Last Wednesday’s football game between Banyana Banyana and Sweden kicked off South Africa’s Olympic campaign in Brazil, but exactly who are our medal hopefuls over the next three weeks?
We take a closer look at the serious contenders such as Wayde van Niekerk and Chad le Clos, and also a few stars from other sports who could fulfil our goal of 10 medals from Rio.
Athletics
Wayde van Niekerk (400m – August 14), Caster Semenya (800m – August 20).
Outside bets: Ruswahl Samaai (long jump – August 13), Sunette Viljoen (javelin – August 18), LJ van Zyl (400m hurdles – August 18).
If you’re looking for sure bets within Team South Africa, look no further than Van Niekerk and Caster Semenya.
Van Niekerk has been the dominant force in the 400m this year, having not lost a single race, and ran the fastest time in the world last year when he won gold at the world championships in Beijing.
He has been working hard on his speed in recent months – which included a training camp with Usain Bolt in Jamaica – so Van Niekerk means business.
Semenya has been in incredible form this year, clocking the fastest time in seven years in her last race in Monaco on July 15, when she broke her South African record.
The 25-year-old likes to start slowly and then break away from the field in the last 100m, so don’t be surprised if she challenges the 30-year-old 800m world record.
Other medal possibilities in track and field are Sunette Viljoen, who won a world championship bronze medal in the javelin last year and placed fourth at London 2012, long jumper Ruswahl Samaai and the experienced LJ van Zyl in the 400m hurdles.
Canoeing
Bridgitte Hartley (500m K1 – August 18).
Hartley made South Africans sit up and take notice of her sport when she clinched an unexpected bronze medal in the K1 500m sprint at the 2012 London Olympics and four years later, she has worked hard to be in contention in Rio.
Hartley said recently she had not been touted as a medal possibility in some quarters, but was relying on experience from London and a pre-Olympic training camp in São Paulo to pull her through to the podium.
Rowing
Matthew Brittain and James Thompson (lightweight doubles sculls – August 12).
Brittain and Thompson were part of the famous “oarsome foursome” who grabbed gold at the 2012 London Olympics in the lightweight coxless fours and will now hope to emulate that achievement in a different event in Rio – the lightweight doubles sculls.
But they will have to stay out of the actual water, as the lagoons and ponds in Rio are notorious for pollution.
Rugby
Springbok Sevens (August 11).
The Blitzboks finished second in the World Sevens Series last year behind Fiji, and can be confident of leaving Rio with some sort of medal around their necks.
But with serious firepower such as Cheslin Kolbe, Seabelo Senatla and Juan de Jongh in the team, coach Neil Powell would want to bring home the gold.
Swimming
Cameron van der Burgh (200m breaststroke – August 10), Chad le Clos (100m and 200m butterfly – August 9 and 12).
Who will forget Le Clos’s dad, Bert, shouting “Unbelievable!” after his son took gold by beating the legendary Michael Phelps in the 200m butterfly at the 2012 Olympics?
Well, there’s no reason why Le Clos can’t do it again in Rio. And Phelps has come out of retirement to get his revenge.
Le Clos won a silver in the 100m butterfly in London and could get another medal in that event too.
Van der Burgh has entered the 200m breaststroke in Rio.