South Africa sent a delegation to compete at the

2010 Winter Olympics )'' , nations = 82 , athletes = 2,626 , events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = February 12, 2010 , closing = February 28, 2010 , opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean , cauldron = Catriona Le May DoanNancy GreeneWayne Gretz ...

in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada from 12–28 February 2010. The South African team consisted of two athletes in two sports: alpine skier Peter Scott and

cross-country skier Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreation ...

Oliver Kraas Oliver Martin Kraas (born 18 April 1975 in Germiston) is a South African cross-country skier who has competed since 2003. Competing in two Winter Olympics, he earned his best finish of 57th in the individual sprint event at Turin in 2006. Kr ...

. Neither of the South African athletes won a medal. 2010 Opening Ceremony - South Africa entering

Background

South Africa first entered Olympic competition at the 1904 St. Louis Summer Olympics. They made their debut at a Winter Olympic Games in the

1960 Winter Olympics The 1960 Winter Olympics (officially the VIII Olympic Winter Games and also known as Squaw Valley 1960) were a winter multi-sport event held from February 18 to 28, 1960, at the Squaw Valley Resort (now known as Palisades Tahoe) in Squaw Vall ...

. From 1964 until 1991, South Africa was banned from the Olympics due to its practice of Apartheid. South Africa was reinstated by the International Olympic Committee in 1991 following the end of Apartheid. They returned to the Olympics for the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

and the

1994 Winter Olympics The 1994 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games ( no, De 17. olympiske vinterleker; nn, Dei 17. olympiske vinterleikane) and commonly known as Lillehammer '94, was an international winter multi-sport event held fro ...

. The nation competed in every Winter Olympics from 1994 to these Vancouver Olympics in 2010. The South African team consisted of two athletes; alpine skier Peter Scott and

. Krass was chosen as the flag bearer for the

opening ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.

, while Alex Heath, a team coach, was chosen for the closing ceremony.

Alpine skiing

South Africa qualified one entrant in alpine skiing. That entrant, Peter Scott, was 19 years old at the time of the Vancouver Olympics. In the men's giant slalom, held on 23 February, he failed to finish the first leg of the race. His failure to finish was caused by leaving the starting gate too early, and then attempting to walk back up a "few meters". Samir Azzimani, a fellow competitor, said Scott was disqualified, though the official records list him as a did not finish.

Cross-country skiing

South Africa qualified one entrant in cross-country skiing, Oliver Kraas, who was 34 at the time of the Games. In his event, the men's sprint, he posted a time of 4 minutes and 4 seconds in the qualifying round, which placed him in 61st position. As only the top 30 competitors advanced to the event's next stage, he was eliminated.

References

{{Nations at the 2010 Winter Olympics Nations at the 2010 Winter Olympics

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...