South African women in sport strike gold at Commonwealth Games
Team South Africa’s showing at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games was disappointing, indifferent and the worst in 28 years, but the silver lining was the outstanding effort from the women athletes who enjoyed record-breaking performances on the global stage.
The entire SA team came back with 27 medals (7 gold, 9 silver and 11 bronze). Of those 27 medals, 14 came from women athletes and 13 by men. This was the first time in team SA history that more medals were won by women over men.
As expected, the bulk of SA’S medals came from the pool, with swimmers picking up 11 medals, including four gold accolades. South Africa’s latest swimming prodigy, Lara van Niekerk, scooped two medals at the Sandwell Aquatics Centre. In her debut at the Commonwealth Games event, she became the first South African athlete at this year’s installment to win two gold medals. Her first came in the 50m breaststroke, beating her Commonwealth heats record, touching the wall at 29.73 seconds.
Just 48 hours later, the 19-year-old’s impressive form continued as she won her second gold in the 100m breaststroke, while Tatjana Schoenmaker took the silver. World-record holder, Schoenmaker then went on to shine in her favourite race, claiming gold in the 200m breaststroke. Olympian Kaylene Corbett took bronze in the same event. Erin Gallagher took bronze in the 50m freestyle final.
Another star of the show was judoka Michaela Whitebooi as she claimed a gold medal in the women’s -48kg category, becoming the first South African female judo gold medallist. While we celebrated Whitebooi’s historic gold, Charné Griesel wanted to share the spotlight, and rightfully so by winning bronze in the women’s -52kg category.
This moment will be forever be marked in *
history as the first time an SA woman judoka reached the Commonwealth podium.
More historic moments came in gymnastics when Caitlin Rooskrantz became the second female gymnast to obtain a medal at the Commonwealth Games. She won the medal in the women’s uneven bars final, giving team South Africa its first bronze on the uneven bars in Commonwealth history. Rooskrantz scored 13.433.
Hailing from Dundee in Kwazulu-natal, Phiwokuhle Mnguni also made history by becoming the first South African female boxer to reach the podium at the Commonwealth Games.
Despite minimal support, insufficient bouts and the disruption caused by Covid-19,
she won bronze alongside Australian Tina Rahimi in the women’s featherweight 54kg57kg event.
The South African women’s fours lawn bowls team comprising of Bridget Calitz, Johanna Snyman, Esme Kruger and Thabelo Muvhango secured silver after losing 17-10 to India in the finals. The second medal for team South Africa came in the women’s pairs B6-8 where para-lawn bowlers Desiree Levin and Victoria van der Merwe held it together to win bronze.
In cycling, team South Africa also had a first. Candice Lill became the first South African female cross-country athlete to secure a Commonwealth Games podium finish with a bronze win.
There were also several Games records that were smashed: swimmer Lara van Niekerk broke three Games records on the way to winning in the women’s 50m breaststroke and Sheryl James broke the Games record in the women’s T37/T38 100m.
So while it may have been Team SA’S “worst”
Commonwealth Games performance since 1994 and 10 points less than the 2018 Gold Coast Games, there are some positives to be proud of — particularly from names we had not heard of before in sporting codes hardly featured on the back pages.