South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

competed at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

in London, United Kingdom, from 27 July to 12 August 2012. This was the nation's eighteenth participation overall and sixth consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics in the post-apartheid era. The

South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee The South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) () is the National Olympic Committee (NOC) and National Paralympic Committee (NPC) for South Africa, and the responsible body for South Africa at the Commonwealth Games. It i ...

(SASCOC) sent a total of 125 athletes to the Games, 67 men and 58 women, to compete in 17 sports.

Field hockey Field hockey (or simply referred to as hockey in some countries where ice hockey is not popular) is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with 11 players in total, made up of 10 field players and a goalk ...

and

women's football Women's football most often refers to: * Women's association football Women's football may also refer to: * Women's gridiron football * Women's Australian rules football * Ladies' Gaelic football * Women's rugby league * Women's rugby union ...

were the only team-based sports in which South Africa were representation at these Olympic Games. There was only a single competitor in archery, BMX cycling, judo, shooting and weightlifting. Notable South African athletes included track stars

Oscar Pistorius Oscar Leonard Carl Pistorius ( , ; born 22 November 1986) is a South African double amputee, former professional sprinter, and convicted murderer. He was the 10th athlete to compete at both the Paralympic Games and Olympic Games. Pistorius r ...

and

Caster Semenya Caster Semenya Order of Ikhamanga, OIB (born 7 January 1991) is a South African middle-distance runner and winner of two Olympic medal, Olympic gold medals and three World Athletics Championships, World Championships in the women's 800 metres ...

. Pistorius, a four-time Paralympic champion, set South Africa's historical record as the first double-leg amputee to compete at the Olympics. Semenya, a middle-distance runner and a world champion who had been subjected to gender testing in 2009, became the nation's flag bearer at the opening ceremony. The South African team also featured past Olympic medalists, including swimmer

Roland Mark Schoeman Roland Mark Schoeman OIS (born 4 July 1980) is a South African and American former swimmer was a world record holder in multiple events, and was a member of the South African swimming team at the 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games. He ...

, who won a full set of medals in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, and long jumper

Godfrey Khotso Mokoena Godfrey Khotso Mokoena OIB (born 6 March 1985 in Heidelberg, South Africa) is a South African athlete who specializes in the long jump and triple jump. Early life and family He started his school education at Shalimar Ridge Primary School in ...

, who took silver in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

. After suffering a major setback in Beijing, South Africa recaptured its previous successes in London with a total of six Olympic medals (four gold, one silver, and one bronze). Among the nation's medalists were swimmers

Cameron van der Burgh Cameron van der Burgh OIS (born 25 May 1988) is a retired South African competitive swimmer and hedge fund analyst. He is Africa's first home-trained world record holder and individual male Olympic champion. He is married to longtime partner ...

and

Chad le Clos Chad Guy Bertrand le Clos, OIS (born 12 April 1992) is a South African competitive swimmer who is an Olympic, World and Commonwealth Games champion. He is the African record, Commonwealth record, and South African record holder in the short ...

, who each won gold in their events, with Le Clos also winning a silver. Van der Burgh broke both an Olympic record and a world record in men's breaststroke swimming. Meanwhile, le Clos surpassed the defending champion

Michael Phelps Michael Fred Phelps II (born June 30, 1985) is an American former competitive swimmer. He is the most successful and most decorated Olympian of all time with a total of 28 medals. Phelps also holds the all-time records for Olympic gold me ...

to claim the title in one of the men's butterfly events. For the first time in its history, South Africa won Olympic medals in rowing and in sprint canoeing.

Medalists

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Archery

Athletics

South African athletes have entered the following events: ;Key * Note – Ranks given for track events are within the athlete's heat only * Q = Qualified for the next round * q = Qualified for the next round as a fastest loser ''or'', in field events, by position without achieving the qualifying target * NR = National record * N/A = Round not applicable for the event * Bye = Athlete not required to compete in round ;Men Ofentse Mogawane was injured in a crash during the first heat of the 4 × 400 m relay. On appeal, South Africa was entered into the final with

Louis van Zyl Louis Jacobus van Zyl (born 20 July 1985), better known as L. J. van Zyl, is a South African athlete competing in the 400 metre hurdles. He is the South African record holder in the event with a personal best of 47.66 seconds, which he ach ...

replacing Mogawane.

made Olympic history, becoming the first double leg amputee ever to participate in the Olympic Games. ;Track & road events * Allowed into final on appeal ;Field events ;Combined events –

Decathlon The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of 10 track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek δέκα (''déka'', meaning "ten") and ἄθλος (''áthlos'', or ἄ ...

;Women ;Track & road events ;Field events

Badminton

Boxing

South Africa has entered boxers for the following events ;Men

Canoeing

Sprint

South Africa has entered canoeists for the following events Qualification Legend: FA = Qualify to final (medal); FB = Qualify to final B (non-medal)

Cycling

South Africa has entered nine cyclists.

Road

Track

;Sprint

Mountain biking

File:MTB cycling 2012 Olympics M cross-country RSA Burry Stander.jpg,

Burry Stander Burry Willie Stander (16 September 1987 – 3 January 2013) was a South African mountain biker, the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup under-23 men's cross-country 2009 world champion. In the 2008 Summer Olympics, held in Beijing, Stander finished ...

File:MTB cycling 2012 Olympics M cross-country RSA Philip Buys.jpg, Philip Buys File:Candice Neethling olympics 2012.jpg, Candice Neethling

BMX

Equestrian

Eventing

Field hockey

South Africa has qualified for both the men's and the women's event. * Men's team event – 1 team of 16 players * Women's team event – 1 team of 16 players

Men's tournament

;Roster ;Group play ---- ---- ---- ---- ;11th/12th place

Women's tournament

;Roster ;Group play ---- ---- ---- ---- ;9th/10th place

Football

South Africa is qualified for the women's event. * Women's team event – 1 team of 18 players

Women's tournament

;Team roster ;Group play ---- ----

Judo

Rowing

South Africa has entered the following events. ;Men ;Women Qualification Legend: FA=Final A (medal); FB=Final B (non-medal); FC=Final C (non-medal); FD=Final D (non-medal); FE=Final E (non-medal); FF=Final F (non-medal); SA/B=Semifinals A/B; SC/D=Semifinals C/D; SE/F=Semifinals E/F; QF=Quarterfinals; R=Repechage

Sailing

South Africa has entered one boat for the following event. ;Men M = Medal race; EL = Eliminated – did not advance into the medal race;

Shooting

South Africa has entered one competitor in shooting; ;Men

Swimming

Twenty South African swimmers have entered the following events: ;Men ;Women

Triathlon

South Africa has entered one man and two women.

Volleyball

Beach

Weightlifting

South Africa has entered one weightlifter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:South Africa At The 2012 Summer Olympics Nations at the 2012 Summer Olympics

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

Medalists

Archery

Athletics

Badminton

Boxing

Canoeing

Sprint

Cycling

Road

Track

Mountain biking

BMX

Equestrian

Eventing

Field hockey

Men's tournament

Women's tournament

Football

Women's tournament

Judo

Rowing

Sailing

Shooting

Swimming

Triathlon

Volleyball

Beach

Weightlifting

See also

References