On Wednesday, there was great joy among South Africa’s top athletes as the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic and Paralympic Committee (Sascoc) unveiled the latest group of competitors set to represent the country at the Paris Olympics next month. Alongside this announcement, Sascoc also introduced financial incentives for athletes who win medals.
Barry Hendricks, President of Sascoc, highlighted the importance of this announcement, stating, "This is a significant step in acknowledging the remarkable achievements of our athletes. This moment also marks a new milestone for our organisation as we continue our commitment to deliver a strong and competitive Team SA for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games."
The updated roster includes a diverse array of athletes competing in various disciplines such as athletics, archery, cycling, fencing, hockey, rowing, women's rugby sevens, and triathlon. This brings the total number of represented sports to 15, expanding from the initial announcement made on May 15.
Noteworthy additions to Team SA are the men's 4x100m and 4x400m relay teams, who recently qualified at the World Relay Championships in the Bahamas. Other significant athletes include Johanita Scholtz, a double African Games gold medallist in badminton, triathlete Henri Schoeman, and rower John Smith, a gold medallist from London 2012 attending his fourth Olympics.
Henri Schoeman will be competing in his third Games, having previously won a bronze medal at Rio 2016. The women’s sevens rugby squad, currently a preliminary group, will have its final team announced before the end of June.
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