South Africa will be pinning its hopes on possibly the country’s largest contingent to bring home the goods at the Rio Olympic Games from August 5 to 21.
Four years ago the South African team returned from the London Games with six medals - two gold, two silver, and bronze - its biggest medal haul since readmission.
The SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) will today announce the final team for the quadrennial showpiece and is set to surpass the 135 from Beijing 2008 with a squad of approximately 138 set to be announced.
Cameron van der Burgh set the tone winning the 100m breaststroke gold medal in a world-record time four years ago before breakthrough star Chad le Clos became a household name when he caused the upset of the Games by beating American icon Michael Phelps in the 200m butterfly for gold and adding the 100m fly silver.
Their success inspired the oarsome foursome - of John Smit, James Thompson, Sizwe Ndlovu, and Matt Brittain to win the men’s lightweight coxless four.
Caster Semenya claimed the country’s second silver in the 800m on the track, and is a strong favourite to repeat that feat this time around, while Bridgitte Hartley bagged bronze in the K1-500.
These athletes have remained among the best in their respective events over the last four years while new stars have emerged to spark optimism of the country’s biggest ever haul at the Games.
Team sports will account for the bulk of the squad with Sevens taking a squad of 12 rugby players and the men’s and women’s soccer teams taking 18 players each to Brazil next month.
Athletics will contribute the biggest contingent of the individual sports with 41 athletes set to be named in the team which will be the country’s largest since readmission (Barcelona in 1992).
The track and field team is expected to be spearheaded by world 400m champion Wayde van Niekerk, and Olympic silver medallist Semenya.
South African javelin queen Sunette Viljoen and Olympic long jump silver medalist Khotso Mokoena are set to take part in their fourth Games.
They will join an exclusive club which include Olympic swimming gold medallists Roland Schoeman and Ryk Neethling and athlete Hendrik Ramaala.
Athletics has made serious strides in gender parity by more than doubling the female representation from London 2012 with 13 women to be named for Rio compared to five that jetted off to London four years ago.
Le Clos and Van der Burgh will once again lead the charge in the pool in a 15-member aquatics team with only two women represented - Julia Vincent in the diving, and Michelle Weber in the Open Water.
The South African rowing team has also doubled since 2012 qualifying five boats for the Games - the men’s four, men’s and women’s pair, and men’s and women’s lightweight doubles.
South Africa’s men’s and women’s golf teams for the sports return to the Games after and absence of 112-year should consist of Jaco van Zyl and Brandon Stone, and Paula Reto and Ashleigh Simon respectively.
The Star