South Africa first participated at the Olympic Games in 1904, and sent athletes to compete in every Summer Olympic Games until 1960. After the passage of United Nations General Assembly Resolution 1761 in 1962 in response to South Africa's policy of apartheid, the nation was barred from the Games. After the negotiations to end apartheid in South Africa commenced in 1990, the nation re-joined the Olympic movement. The South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee was created in 1991, and South Africa returned to the Games at the 1992 Summer Olympics (and the 1992 Summer Paralympics). South Africa also participated in the Winter Olympic Games in 1960, and since 1994. South African athletes have won a total of 95 medals, with athletics, boxing, and swimming as the top medal-producing sports.
| South Africa at the Olympics | |
|---|---|
 | |
| IOC code | RSA |
| NOC | South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee |
| Website | www |
| Medals Ranked 37th |
|
| Summer appearances | |
| Winter appearances | |
Timeline of participation
edit| Olympic Year/s | Teams | |
|---|---|---|
| 1904–1908 |  South Africa (ZAF) | |
| 1912–1924 |  South Africa (ZAF) | |
| 1928–1956 |  South Africa (ZAF) | |
| 1960 | South Africa (SAF) | |
| 1964–1992 W | ||
| 1992 S |  South Africa |  Namibia |
| 1994 |  South Africa | |
| 1996–present |  South Africa | |
History
edit_and_Jan_Mashiani_of_the_Tswana_tribe_of_South_Africa.jpg)
South African athletes first participated in the 1904 Summer Olympics in St. Louis, when few foreign athletes arrived and the organisers invited participants of the adjacent 1904 World's Fair to compete.[2] General Piet Cronjé, Len Taunyane, and Jan Mashiani, all Boer War veterans who had been taken prisoner by the British at St. Helena after the Battle of Paardeberg and had reenacted battle scenes at the fair, participated in the men's marathon.[2] Len Taunyane and Jan Mashiani were the first black Africans to participate in the Olympics, and the only black people to represent South Africa in the Olympics until the end of apartheid.[2]
Although the four British colonies of Cape of Good Hope, Natal, Transvaal, and Orange River did not form the Union of South Africa until 1910, they fielded a combined South Africa team at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, where Reggie Walker won its first gold medal.[2] The first South African woman in the Olympics was swimmer Barbara Nash in 1920, and the first women to win medals were the 1928 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay quartet, who came third.[2] The South African Olympic and Empire Games Association was awarded the 1934 British Empire Games in Johannesburg but backed out when it became evident that they would have to allow a team from India to compete.[2]
South Africa first entered the Winter Olympics in 1960, and that summer's games in Rome would be its last till the end of apartheid.[2] It was not invited to the 1964 Games, and its 1968 invitation was withdrawn when other teams threatened to withdraw. The South African Olympic and National Games Association was expelled from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1970.
The nonracial Interim National Olympic Committee of South Africa (now South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee) was founded in 1991 during the transition to multiracial equality and affiliated to the IOC months later. The country returned at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.[2]
Medal tables
editMedals by Summer Games
| Games | Athletes | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 1904 St. Louis | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
 1908 London | 14 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 14 |
 1912 Stockholm | 21 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 7 |
 1920 Antwerp | 39 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 10 | 11 |
 1924 Paris | 30 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 18 |
 1928 Amsterdam | 24 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 23 |
| 1932 Los Angeles | 12 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 15 |
 1936 Berlin | 32 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 25 |
| 1948 London [Art] | 35 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 18 |
 1952 Helsinki | 64 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 10 | 12 |
 1956 Melbourne | 50 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 33 |
 1960 Rome | 55 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 28 |
| 1964–1988 | excluded | |||||
 1992 Barcelona | 93 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 41 |
| 1996 Atlanta | 84 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 27 |
| 2000 Sydney | 127 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 55 |
 2004 Athens | 106 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 43 |
 2008 Beijing | 136 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 70 |
| 2012 London | 125 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 20 |
 2016 Rio de Janeiro | 138 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 10 | 30 |
 2020 Tokyo | 177 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 52 |
 2024 Paris | 149 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 44 |
| 2028 Los Angeles | future event | |||||
| 2032 Brisbane | ||||||
| Total (21/30) | 1,519 | 28 | 36 | 31 | 95 | 37 |
- Art comp. Art competitions (1912–1948) are not included in the medal table above, as they were non-sports events formerly part of the Olympic Games.[nb 1] South Africa won a total of two art competition medals (1 silver, and 1 bronze), both at the 1948 Summer Olympics.[4]
Medals by Winter Games
| Games | Athletes | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 Squaw Valley | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1964–1988 | excluded | |||||
| 1992 Albertville | did not participate | |||||
 1994 Lillehammer | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1998 Nagano | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2002 Salt Lake City | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2006 Turin | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
 2010 Vancouver | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
 2014 Sochi | did not participate | |||||
 2018 Pyeongchang | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2022 Beijing | did not participate | |||||
| 2026 Milano Cortina | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2030 French Alps | future event | |||||
| 2034 Utah | ||||||
| Total (8/25) | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
Medals by summer sport
edit
List of medalists
editMedalists in sports
edit
Medalists in art competitions
editIn addition to its accomplishments in sport, South Africa has also earned recognition in Olympic art competitions—one of the three non-sports events once included in the Olympic Games. The country won a total of two art competition medals (1 silver, and 1 bronze), both at the 1948 Summer Olympics.[4] These events were part of the official Olympic program in seven Summer Games, from 1912 to 1948. In 1952, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) formally discontinued all non-sport events (including art competitions), as well as awards for feats (such as alpinism and aeronautics). These were subsequently removed from official national medal counts.[6][nb 1]
| Medal | Name | Games | Event | Piece |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Silver | Ernst van Heerden | 1948 London | Literature, Lyric works | "Six Poems"[7] |
 Bronze | Walter Battiss | 1948 London | Painting, Graphic Arts | "Seaside Sport"[8] |
See also
editNotes
edit- 1 2 In 1952, art competition medals, as well as the gold medal awards for feats in alpinism and aeronautics, were removed from the official national medal counts.[6] Only since 2021 have they been officially listed again by the IOC in the medal tables and respective NOC profile on its website. South Africa won a total of two art competition medals (1 silver, and 1 bronze), both at the 1948 Summer Olympics.[4]
References
edit- ↑ van der Merwe, Floris J.G. (1999). "Africa's First Encounter with the Olympic Games In....1904" (PDF). Journal of Olympic History. September 1999. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 May 2021. Retrieved 22 May 2021 – via International Society of Olympic Historians – ISOH.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Laubscher, Lappe (23 August 2017). "South Africa and the Olympic Games". South African History Online. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
- 1 2 "Olympic Analytics – South Africa (RSA)". olympanalyt.com. Olympic Analytics. 2024. Retrieved 25 July 2025.
- 1 2 3 "South Africa - NOC Profile". olympics.com. International Olympic Committee (IOC). 2024. Archived from the original on 6 October 2024. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
- 1 2 "Olympedia – South Africa (RSA)". Olympedia. Olympedia. 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2025.
- ↑ McGillivray, Mary (31 July 2024). "ABC TV's The Art Of explores the surprising history of art competitions at the Olympics". ABC News. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
- ↑ "Art Competitions at the 1948 Summer Olympics: Literature, Lyric Works, Open". Olympedia. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
- ↑ "Art Competitions at the 1948 Summer Olympics: Painting, Graphic Arts, Open". Olympedia. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
External links
edit- "South Africa". International Olympic Committee. 27 July 2021.
- "South Africa". Olympedia.com.
- "Olympic Analytics/RSA". olympanalyt.com.