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Au revoir, Paris and merci for the memories

olympics12 August 2024 16:15| © SuperSport
By:Karien Jonckheere
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Tatjana Smith © Getty Images

After a strangely subdued Covid-tainted Tokyo Olympics where the sound of cicada beetles was often louder than anyone in the stadiums – Paris has provided a raucous party of note.

From the passionate crowds and shouts of “Allez Leon!” for their beloved and now highly decorated swimming superstar to the Champs-Elysees sing-alongs at the Stade de France, it’s been a joyful 16 days.

Just over two weeks in which Parisians have succeeded in shifting their reputation for being a grumpy bunch as they celebrated the best athletes from 206 nations competing across 32 sports.

Even the president of the organising committee Tony Estanguet talked in his speech at the closing ceremony on Sunday of how the French had seen themselves transformed from a nation of “die-hard moaners” to “a country of wild supporters, who never want to stop singing”.

Of course the singing will stop and flags will be packed away but, despite a polarising opening ceremony, a smelly river and a few other inevitable hiccups along the way, the French truly did pull off something spectacular.

From a South African perspective, Paris – as it did for the Springboks on that memorable day at the Stade de France back in 2023 – has proven a happy hunting ground.

Team South Africa increased their medal tally from three in Tokyo to six from these Games – one gold, three silvers and two bronzes to finish joint 44th on the medal table along with Jamaica and Thailand.

TATJANA LEADS THE WAY....AGAIN

Once again, just as she did back in 2021, Tatjana Smith led the way by bagging the nation’s only gold medal – in the 100m breaststroke – and then added a silver in the 200m event. 

The 27-year-old has said herself, she is a different swimmer to the one she was back in Tokyo – much happier, more content and able to deal with the limelight that comes with becoming the country’s greatest Olympian.

SIMBINE DELIVERS AS RELAY TEAM BAGS SILVER

The men’s 4x100m relay silver was the one that had perhaps been the longest in the making.

Akani Simbine having finished fifth in the 100m final in Rio, fourth in Tokyo and then fourth again in Paris in one of the races of the decade, was still in search of an Olympic medal.

Finally it came with the assistance of schoolboy Bayanda Walaza, Shaun Maswanganyi and Bradley Nkoana, who knew if they could just get that baton to Simbine anywhere near the front, he’d take care of the rest.

That he certainly did, blazing past three other nations down the home straight to finally get his place on that podium.

Classy as ever, and just like Smith, Simbine dedicated the medal to all those who had supported him over the years, and then tried to place as much of the spotlight as possible on his young teammates.

SURPRISE JAVELIN SILVER

Then there was the surprise silver for Jo-Ané van Dyk – the self-funded javelin thrower who produced her best when it mattered most and rewarded her coach, Terseus Liebenberg, with a second silver medal in eight years after the world-renowned mentor also guided Sunette Viljoen to the same step of the podium in Rio in 2016.

HATHERLY CYCLES ONTO THE PODIUM

The bronze medals came from two different sports.

While international commentators didn’t include him in their Men's Cross-Country Cycling Mountain Bike race pre-race previews, South African Alan Hatherly came into the Games very much in the medal mix, having claimed several podium places in the World Cup series and topping the standings before the break for the Olympics.

Granted, not all the top riders were competing, but Hatherly’s confidence was high and he too did the business when it counted, securing the country their first medal in the sport on an Olympic stage.

BLITZBOKS PROVE THEIR DOUBTERS WRONG

The men’s rugby sevens team were the other bronze medallists, completing a remarkable turnaround after just scraping into the last possible qualifying spot for the Games.

The Blitzboks proved all their doubters wrong by bouncing back from a terrible start to the pool stages and bagging the bronze – just as they did in Rio in 2016.

WHAT NEXT FOR TEAM SA?

With Smith having announced her retirement from the pool, immediately after the 200m breaststroke final, questions are immediately raised as to where the country’s next gold medal might come from.

Swimming and athletics have traditionally been the to bring in the bulk of the medals and if Paris is anything to go by, there could be much to look forward to in 2028.

Pieter Coetzé, just 20 years old and competing at his second Olympics, reached both the 100 and 200m backstroke finals, finishing fifth and seventh respectively and said afterwards he’s more fired up than ever to get his hands on an Olympics medal.

Prudence Sekgodiso was superb on her way to the 800m final on the track and at 22, shows there’s much hope for the future.

Plus two of the four 4x100m relay silver medallists were teenagers – Bayanda Walaza and Bradley Nkoana showing the promise there is in South African sprinting.

There’s also 20-year-old Benji Richardson who has a personal best of 9.86 seconds for the 100m and was unlucky to miss out on that relay because of a hamstring injury.

Not that 30-year-old Simbine is done just yet. He indicated after finishing fourth in the 100m final in a national record time that he has no intention of hanging up his spikes just yet.

And if he’s still running as fast in four years’ time, why would he?

Numerous athletes indicated how inspired they were by their Paris experiences.

And while inspiration will get you so far, financial backing and support will be crucial to get them a whole lot further over the next four years.

Chef de Mission for Team SA in Paris Leon Fleiser indicated on the eve of the closing ceremony that plans were already in place for the build-up to the LA Games in 2028.

This now includes financial support from partners Bidvest and the National Lotteries Commission.

“As the Chef de Mission and General Manager of High Performance [at Sascoc], I’m very happy with Team South Africa’s performance,” he said.

“We’ve said we would beat Tokyo, we’ve doubled Tokyo, so we’re extremely proud of what the athletes have done for us, but now the hard work starts going towards LA.

“We’ll be visiting LA already in October to start our planning and meeting with all the federations in the build-up to get Operation Excellence going through Bidvest and funding through the NLC so we can assist the athletes now already over a four-year cycle instead of one year before the Games.”

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