MediaClubSouthAfrica

MediaClubSouthAfrica.com

Helping the media cover the South African story.

Weather forecasts

South Africa weather forecasts

Snap daily forecasts for 20 cities and
towns.

The South African Story - free download for Apple

Sport

South African fans' guide to Rio 2016 – Week 2 (13-21 August)

4 August 2016

The Summer Olympic Games begin on 5 August, with South African track star and official flag-bearer Wayde van Niekerk leading the South African team of 137 athletes into the Maracanγ Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for the opening ceremony.

Over two weeks, a worldwide audience of more than 30 million will have to navigate wall-to-wall sport action, and for any patriotic South African sport fan, it's vital to have the all the details of when athletes from the national team are featured.

Here is a guide to important Olympic events featuring participants from Team South Africa at Rio 2016. You can also check out the South African athletes' social media profiles to stay up to date with their preparations and send them some good luck.

Please note the time differences between Rio and South Africa – South Africa is five hours ahead of Brazil. All times in this guide are local South African times.

Times and events are subject to change. Consult the official Rio Olympics 2016 website or the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) website for more details about events and participants.

Also check your television service provider for detailed schedules.

You can follow all the South African Olympic action on Sascoc's social media platforms:

Week 2

Saturday, 13 August

Men's football. Quarter-finals

01:00-05:00: Athletics. A big day as one of South Africa's biggest hopefuls, multiple record-holder Wayde van Niekerk is in action in the heats for the men's 400m.

Long jumpers Stefan Brits, Luvo Manyonga and Rushwahl Samaai vie for position in the men's long jump heats.

Alyssa Conley and Carina Horn run the women's 100m heats, up against the world's best including the US's English Gardner and London 2012 gold medallist Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce from Jamaica.

03:00-04:30: Swimming. The 100m butterfly final may feature Chad le Clos again, up against the US's Michael Phelps.

14:00-18:00: The athletics afternoon session features Justine Palframan and Tsholofelo Thipe running the women's 400m heats, and Henricho Bruintjies, Anaso Jobodwana and African 100m record holder Akani Simbine in the men's 100m, challenging big guns Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake, both from Jamaica.

The men's 100m final, the pinnacle of the Olympic athletics competition, take place on Monday, 15 August from 01:00.

Sunday, 14 August

01:00-05:00. Athletics. Today is jam-packed with most of the semi-final events taking place, including Wayde van Niekerk in the 400m semi-finals. Also happening are the long jump finals and the men's 800m finals, featuring Kenya's David Rudisha.

South Africa's Stephen Mokoka is in the men's 10km track marathon, while Christine Kalmer, Diana-Lebo Phalula and Irvette van Blerk (Van Zyl) participate in the women's road marathon.

04:00: Swimming marathon. Michelle Weber swims in the women's 10K marathon this morning.

Monday, 15 August

01:00-05:00: Athletics. Men's 400m and 100m finals, plus women's 400m semi- finals. Depending on their success, South African athletes could feature in these races, including Wayde van Niekerk in the 400m final.

14:00-17:00: Athletics. Godfrey Khotso Mokoena looks to start his campaign for another Olympic medal in the men's triple jump. He won a long jump silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Wenda Nel is in the 400m hurdles heats.

Tuesday, 16 August

Women's football: Semi-finals

01:00-04:00: Athletics. African Championships and African Games gold medallist Antonio Alkana is in the men's 110m hurdle heats.

13:00: Open water marathon. Chad Ho looks to improve his 2008 Beijing ninth place in the gruelling 10km swimming marathon. He is the current World Aquatics champion in the 5km race, and is also the only South African Olympian without official sponsorship. He is being crowdfunded through online donations from fans.

14:00: Athletics. Anaso Jobodwana and Akani Simbine participate in the men's 200m.

Wednesday, 17 August

Men's football. Semi-finals

01:00-05:00: Athletics. Sunette Viljoen throws in the women's javelin heats, looking to improve on her London 2012 fourth place and add an Olympic medal to go with her African Championships and Commonwealth Games golds.

Lynique Prinsloo competes in the women's long jump qualifiers, the first South African to compete in the event since 1992.

12:00: Golf. Paula Reto and Ashleigh Simon tee off in the first Olympic women's golf tournament, which takes place over the next four days.

14:00: Athletics. Willem Coertzen competes in the men's decathlon.

Later in the afternoon, South Africa's most promising medal hopeful, Caster Semenya (a silver medallist in London in 2012), begins her Olympic campaign in the women's 800m heats.

She is coming off a highly successful season, becoming the first runner to win the 400m, 800m and 1 500m titles at the South African National Championships, as well as setting a new national record for the 800m in July.

18:00: BMX racing. While London 2012 trailblazer Sifiso Nhlapo might have lost out on a place in the Rio team this year, Kyle Dodd is more than qualified to take up where he left off. As current South Africa champion, Dodd aims to bring home a gold. He rides in the first round of races today, with the finals starting on Friday, 19 August.

22:00-05:00: Athletics, including women's long jump final, women's 200m final and men's 200m semi-final

Thursday, 18 August

16:00: Triathlon. Richard Murray and Henri Schoeman participate in the swim, ride and run event.

22:00-05:00: Athletics, including women's javelin final (possibly featuring Sunette Viljoen), women's 400m final and men's 200m final

Friday, 19 August

Women's football. Gold medal match

13:00: Athletics. The men's 50km walk marathon featuring South African Marc Mundell. Anel Oosthuizen competes in the women's 20km walk later in the day, at 19:30.

Saturday, 20 August

Men's football. Gold medal match

16:00-19:00: Women's triathlon, featuring past Olympic veterans Mari Rabie (Beijing 2008) and Gillian Sanders (London 2012).

Sunday, 21 August

The final day of competition

01:00-05:00: Athletics. A big highlight today is Caster Semenya possibly in the women's 800m final. Other athletics events wrapping up today are the men's 5 000m final and the men's marathon, perhaps featuring South Africans Lusapho April, Lungile Gongqa and Sibusiso Nzima.

The trio will be attempting to follow in the footsteps of Josia Thugwane, South African marathon gold medal winner at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games.

17:30-20:00: Mountain biking.

Alan Hatherly and James Reid have the last opportunity to add to South Africa's medal tally when they both ride in the men's cross-country event.

This event was a particularly exciting highlight at the London Games in 2012 where the late Burry Stander had South Africans on the edge of their seats with his dynamic progress up the leader board during the race. While Stander could only get a hard-fought fifth place in the end, it was a great example of South African sporting spirit.

Hatherly and Reid will no doubt have Stander in mind during the race and go for the gold in his honour.

01:16: Closing ceremony

Appropriately the Rio Olympics closing ceremony begins at 20:16 in Rio, 01:16 South African time, once again at the Maracanγ stadium, where Brazil officially brings the Games to an end and hands off to Japan, which will host the 2020 Games in Tokyo.

But not before Rio hosts the companion Paralympic Games, which begin on 7 September.

Source: Official Rio Olympics 2016 website

Would you like to use this article in your publication or on your website? See: Using SouthAfrica.info material

Team South Africa is sending 137 representatives to the Rio Olympics, which start on 5 August 2016. Sports represented included swimming, athletics, sevens rugby and football. (Image: Sascoc)

Related links

Related articles

South African sport update

SA sport update

Get up to speed with what's happening in South African sport.

MediaClubSouthAfrica

MediaClubSouthAfrica.com

Helping the media cover the South African story.

Weather forecasts

South Africa weather forecasts

Snap daily forecasts for 20 cities and
towns.

The South African Story - free download for Apple

South African Government Online South African Tourism South African National Parks Wines of South Africa South African Broadcasting Corporation South African Airways JSE Business Unity South Africa