South African fans’ guide to Rio 2016 – WEEK 2 (13-21 August)

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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 Maracanã 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 moredetails 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 Maracanã 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

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