Sinesipho Dambile delivered in spectacular fashion on Friday night, winning the SA team's first gold medal on the track at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
The 24-year-old was level with the rest of the field at the end of the bend, but he powered down the back straight and pipped Nigeria's Udodi Chudi Onwizirike and Jamaica's Christopher Taylor across the finish line with a wining time of 19.96 seconds.
STAR BOY ⭐️
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) July 31, 2026
🥇🇿🇦 Sinesipho Dambile takes the gold medal in the Men's 200m sprint 💯#Glasgow2026 #SSCommonwealthGames pic.twitter.com/GKtb3dE679
Dambile stormed to victory in the men's 200m final in 19.96 seconds. He finished 0.13 clear of former world junior champion Udodi Onwuzurike of Nigeria, who took second place in 20.09. Jamaican athlete Christopher Taylor took third position in 20.11.
Earlier, judoka Donne Breytenbach won bronze in the Women's -57kg event with her second Ippon (100-0) of the day when she beat Marie Begue of Mauritius.
🥉 Donne Breytenbach adds another medal to Team South Africa's tally.#TeamSA #ForMyCountry pic.twitter.com/KVbdUIvfH4
— Team South Africa (@OfficialTeamRSA) July 31, 2026
Team SA now boast 25 medals in total (7 gold, 9 silver and 9 bronze).
In other finals, Douw Smit was in the hunt for a medal until the closing stages of the men's javelin throw competition, ultimately settling for fifth spot with a best attempt of 82.88m. Liezel Gouws ended seventh in the women's T38 long jump contest, landing at 4.38m (with a +2.7m/s tailwind).
The athletics competition at the Commonwealth Games will come to a close on Saturday.
Schedule of SA athletes competing on Saturday (SA times):
EARLY SESSION
11.05am - F57 shot put final, men (Nicolaas Strydom)
1pm - 400m final, men (Zakithi Nene)
1.55pm - 4x100m relay heats, men (SA team)
2.24pm - T38 200m final, women (Sheryl James)
LATE SESSION
8.05pm - pole vault final, men (Kyle Rademeyer)
8.35pm - javelin throw final, women (Jo-Ane du Plessis)
9.15pm - 4x100m relay final, men
9.55pm - mile final, men (Tshepo Tshite)
10.45pm - mile final, women (Karabo More)