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- Six SA Olympians have won more medals than a single gold since 1992
- The 3 athletes who have won double gold are all women
- Tatjana Smith is the most successful, with 2 golds and 2 silvers
Tatjana (Schoenmaker) Smith is South Africa’s most-successful Olympian after winning gold in the 100m breaststroke for the second time at the Paris 2024 Games. She also has two silver medals, both won for the 200m women’s breaststroke.
Smith overtakes Penny Heyns at the top of South Africa’s medals table. Marathon runner Josia Thugwane and Heyns were democratic South Africa’s first gold medalists when the country returned to the Games in Atlanta in 1996. Heyns won both the 100m and 200m women’s breaststroke.
Of the 14 athletes who have won gold since South Africa’s readmission, only six have at least one other medal. At the Olympics, ranking is based on gold medals. Silver and bronze are used as tie-breakers.
Caster Semenya won the 800m in London in 2012 and again in Rio in 2016. She is the only other athlete to have won two gold medals since 1992. She is also South Africa’s only black female medalist.
— 2 August, 2024Subscribe to the weekly newsletter for more charts like this
