The Olympic Games are the pinnacle of sporting excellence, and these women athletes are the perfect example of South African sporting talent.
This year, South African Women’s Month coincides with the Summer Olympic Games, which makes it a perfect time to honour just some of the countless women who have made history in these prestigious games. From Penny Heyns to Caster Semenya, South African women have continued to showcase their skills at the highest level.
The Olympics are some of the oldest athletic competitions in the world, starting in 776 BC, but women only joined the competition in the 1900 games. South Africa has an interesting relationship with the Olympic games because of the nation’s Apartheid policy which had them banned from 1964 until the negotiations to end Apartheid began in 1990 (Olympedia). This means South African women only participated in the Olympic Games on a larger scale from the 1992 Summer Games, with 26 women at once, as opposed to the combined 31 between 1920 and 1990.
Since their readmission, South African women have proven to be worthy contenders, holding their weight in all competitions, from swimming to athletics and even hockey.
Penelope ‘Penny’ Heyns, one of the nation’s most successful competitors, won 3 total medals (two gold and one bronze), and became one of the world’s greatest swimmers after becoming the first woman in Olympic history to win both the 200m and 100m breaststroke events at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games.
Despite questions about her gender, Caster Semenya won gold medals in Women’s 800m athletics at the London 2012 and Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympics. Semenya’s Olympics journey was cut short when World Athletics (formerly International Association of Athletics Federations) ruled in 2018 that she and other female athletes like her with high testosterone levels should take medication to reduce these levels. She remains one of the greatest South African women athletes to participate at the Olympics.
Tatjana Smith (formerly Schoenmaker) is yet another South African woman who continues to achieve phenomenal results at the Olympic Games. As of July 30, Smith received one gold medal in the women’s 100m breaststroke event, the country’s first of the tournament. This gold medal achievement is her third after winning two others at the 2020 Tokyo Games, where she set a new world record for the Women’s 200m breaststroke.
These are just a few of South Africa’s amazing women athletes who have flown the South African flag high. Their passion, dedication, and skill serve to inspire generations of young women as the country celebrates women this Women’s Month.
FEATURED IMAGE: Tatjana Smith posing with her Olympic gold medal on TV. Photo: Kamogelo Kungwane
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