Country Report: South Africa’s Beijing Bound Athletes

Include South African Sports Confederation and Olympics Committee President, Moss Mashishi, among those who would rather not make medal predictions for this coming Beijing Olympiad. Here’s what he says on the prospective performance of South African Olympians:

“We have avoided targets with specific numbers but hope to improve from one Olympic Games to the next. We encourage the athletes to do their best without any undue pressure”.

So far, 40 South African athletes are going to Beijing. They are:

Archery: Calvin Hartley
Boxing: Jackson Chauke
Cycling: Robbie Hunter, John-Lee Augustyn, David George, Burry Stander, Yolande Speed
Diving: Jenna Dreyer
Fencing: Jyoti Chetty, Adele du Plooy, Elvira Wood, Michael Wood, Dario Torrente, Sello Maduma
Gymnastics (rhythmic): Odette Richard
Sailing: Penny Alison, Dominique Provoyeur, Kim Rew
Shooting: Diane Swanton, Esmari van Reenen
Swimming: Kathryn Meaklim, Melissa Corfe, Jessica Pengelly, Lize-Mari Retief, Mandy Loots, Wendy Trott, Suzaan van Biljon, Cameron van der Burgh, Darian Townsend, Gerhard Zandberg, George du Rand, Gideon Louw, Jean Basson, Lyndon Ferns, Neil Versfeld, Riaan Schoeman, Roland Schoeman, Ryk Neethling, Troy Prinsloo, William Diering