Not just cricket: Basil D'Oliveira

South African swimmer Natalie du Toit, whose left leg was amputated below the knee in 2001, has gone on to win five Paralympic and three world titles for athletes with disability - six of these in world record time. Perhaps her greatest achievement, however, has been bridging the gap between able-bodied and disabled athletes.

Over the course of 60 years, athlete Wally Hayward excelled at distances ranging from 100 metres to 100 miles, represented South Africa at the Olympic Games and set world long distance records. His defining achievements, however, were reserved for one of the greatest ultra-marathons of them all: the Comrades.

Over the course of 60 years, athlete Wally Hayward excelled at distances ranging from 100 metres to 100 miles, represented South Africa at the Olympic Games and set world long distance records. His defining achievements, however, were reserved for one of the greatest ultra-marathons of them all: the Comrades.

He was the shortest ever boxing world champion, and the only South African to win four world titles. But it was "Baby Jake" Matlala's heart that captured the imagination of the South African public.

When South African rugby fans named Frik du Preez the country's rugby player of the twentieth century, it was a vote not only for his prodigious performances on the field, but also for his charisma and influence on those around him.

Penny Heyns, who set 14 world records and became the first woman to complete the Olympic double of winning both the 100 and 200 metres breaststroke, is arguably the greatest female breaststroke swimmer of all time.

A left-handed batsman who struck the ball with immaculate timing, making the game look at once simple and stunning, Graeme Pollock was arguably the greatest left-hander in cricket history, with a test average second only to Sir Donald Bradman.

Pule "Ace" Ntsoelengoe, who made his mark both in South Africa and the United States, was inducted into the US Soccer Hall of Fame in 2003. This came as no surprise: former SA coach Clive Barker puts Ntsoelengoe on a par with Zinedine Zidane, while former Argentinean manager Oscar Martinez once described him as "almost a perfect footballer".

Voted South Africa's sportsman of the twentieth century, Gary Player is one of only five people to have won golf's Grand Slam, has 163 international tournament victories to his name - 63 more than the great Jack Nicklaus - and is thought to have travelled further for sport than any athlete in history.

Steve "Kalamazoo" Mokone, the first black South African to play professional football in Europe, was South Africa's first soccer superstar. By 1959 he was rated one of the best in Europe, and was being compared to the "Rolls-Royce" of soccer players, Pele of Brazil.