All is not lost yet, but there is a fair bit of panic in some SA circles as, after almost a week in Beijing, the country is yet to win a medal.
The three fastest men in history all cruised through their Olympic 100m heats in Beijing on Friday.
The unstoppable Michael Phelps won his sixth gold medal with his sixth world record of the Beijing Games on Friday.
South Africa’s Roland Schoeman proved in Beijing on Thursday night that there is no reason to write him off just yet.
Roger Federer’s troubled season took another turn for the worse when he was sent crashing out of the Olympic Games in a shock quarterfinal defeat.
Roland Schoeman, a silver medallist in the 100m freestyle at the Athens Games, is looking to give struggling South Africa an Olympic medal boost.
Frenchman Alain Bernard out-touched rival Eamon Sullivan to take Olympic gold in the 100m freestyle, with SA’s Lyndon Ferns finishing in sixth place.
Frenchman Alain Bernard put aside the demons of an agonising relay defeat to win the men’s 100m freestyle gold medal at the Beijing Games on Thursday.
Michael Phelps came up for air on Thursday morning, swimming just the semifinals of the men’s 200m individual medley.
South Africa’s men and women hockey teams have been under the cosh in Beijing after both sides lost their opening two games.
Claims of questionable officiating and even cheating flared on Wednesday with the Olympic shooting and boxing competitions coming under fire.
High hopes for South African tennis this week at the Olympic Games and in Washington, DC, have ended in failure.
Australia pulverised hapless South Africa 10-0 on Wednesday in their quest to retain the Olympic men’s field hockey gold medal.
Michael Phelps became the greatest Olympian in history on Wednesday, capturing the 10th and 11th gold medals of his Games career.
Ryk Neethling fails to progress in Beijing, but other SA swimmers fare better in their heats.
Former record holder Asafa Powell says Usain Bolt and Tyson Gay will not run him down if he takes the lead in their anticipated Olympic 100m clash.
Jean Basson gave Team South Africa its best result of the Beijing Olympics to date when he finished fourth in the 200m freestyle finals on Tuesday.
The girl who starred at the Olympic opening ceremony was only on stage because the real singer was not considered attractive enough, it was revealed.
US sisters Serena and Venus Williams powered on towards a likely gold-medal showdown with easy second-round wins on Tuesday.
US swimmer Michael Phelps carved his name among Olympic greats on Tuesday, winning a record-equalling ninth gold on a dominant morning for Americans.
China’s Li Na produced a shock defeat of Svetlana Kuznetsova as the Olympic tennis tournament produced a catalogue of upsets on Monday.
Jean Basson in the 200m freestyle offered some Olympic hope for a first SA medal on a day that saw the US victorious in the 4x100m relay final.
American swimmer Michael Phelps needed a little help from his friends to pip France in the relay on Monday and keep alive his dream of eight golds.
”It’s anyone’s game tomorrow,” is the message from Darian Townsend after the South African team were confined to third in their heat.
A crash landing off the asymmetric bars by He Kexin failed to stop China from upstaging an injury-hit United States team at the Olympics on Sunday.
China leapt and twisted to gold in the women’s synchronised three metre springboard on Sunday, claiming the first diving medals.
Western tourists sightseeing in a rainy Tiananmen Square on Sunday were unfazed by a fatal attack on an American tourist in Beijing.
Zimbabwe’s Kirsty Coventry, who won silver in the Olympic 400m individual medley on Sunday, said she would never compete for another country.
Swimmer Michael Phelps smashed his own world record to take a first gold on Sunday in the quest for an unprecedented eight wins.
The Czech Republic took first honours at the Olympics on Saturday, and China also won an early gold to cap a dazzling opening ceremony.
Resurgent China opened the Olympics on Friday with a burst of fireworks at a spectacular ceremony that celebrated ancient Chinese history.
Lucky Sindane assesses which South Africans have the potential to bring medals home.