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CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA – JUNE 14: Gayton McKenzie  leader of the Patriotic Allaiance  during the First Sitting Of The National Assembly  at Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC)  on June 14, 2024 in Cape Town, South Africa. The Chief Justice swore in the designated members and administered the oath or affirmation to the Republic of South Africa and obedience to the Constitution. (Photo by Brenton Geach/Gallo Images via Getty Images)

Gayton Mckenzie has a huge task on his hands to fix South Africa at the Olympics

Despite an admirable showing at the Olympic games, McKenzie sets his sights on 2028 and apologises to the athletes

4 Aug 1996:   Josia Thugwane of South Africa celebrates as he enters the stadium during the men’s marathon at the Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia. Thugwane won gold.   (Mike Powell /Allsport via Getty Images)

Understanding the legacy of South Africa’s first Olympic marathon runners

Two black South African runners were among the first from the continent to compete in the 1904 games in the United States

Muslim women demonstrate against the French proposal to bar Muslim women from wearing headscarves in state schools on January 17, 2004 in Paris, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)

Paris Olympics 2024: No gold, silver or bronze medal for France’s hijab ban

Imagine the outcry if another non-European host nation banned women athletes from wearing any sort of attire

Global sporting events must end harmful partnerships to protect people and planet

Competition organisers risk accusations of sportswashing when partnering with companies such as Toyota and TotalEnergies

Olympic legend Carl Lewis of the United States talks during a press conference at the Main Media Centre of Parque Deportivo del Estadio Nacional on Day 8 of the Santiago 2023 Pan Am Games on October 28, 2023 in Santiago, Chile. (Photo by Fernando de Dios/Getty Images)

Youth of today lack the discipline to break records, says Olympic champ Carl Lewis

Lewis won four consecutive Olympic golds between 1984 and 1996, as well as two world titles

Oscar Pistorius was jailed for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in 2013

Oscar Pistorius’ lawyer eyes ‘immediate release’ if he gets parole

The former former Paralympian was jailed for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in 2013

Hope: Luol Deng (centre) trains young players at the Manute Bol basketball court, built by the two-time All-Star NBA player’s foundation in South Sudan’s capital Juba. Photo: Akuot Chol/AFP

Luol Deng: South Sudan’s great rebound

Amid the trials the country faces in rebuilding after the long struggle for its independence, its success in basketball is hopeful

General View inside the stadium ahead of the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics at Beijing National Stadium on February 04, 2022 in Beijing, China. (Annice Lyn/Getty Images)

China’s Olympic battle for legitimacy: The prehistory of the 2022 Beijing Games

Only through the lens of history can we understand why China fought so hard for a place in the Olympics on its own terms — to heal the scars of Western colonialism and civil war

A man wears a traditional Kankurang mask along the beach in the popular tourist area of Senegambia in Banjul on December 6, 2021. (Photo: John Wessels/AFP)

The Continent: Africa A-Z of 2021

The highlights of 2021 in Africa

Kenyan runner Agnes Tirop poses after winning the women’s 1 500m race during a Diamond League meeting at the Olympic Stadium in Stockholm, Sweden. (Photograph by Marco Mantovani/ Getty Images)

Agnes Tirop’s blossoming cut short by brutal murder

Like so many victims of domestic and gender-based violence, the star Kenyan road runner was killed in her home, robbing her of what seemed like a rosy future in world athletics

Split-second loss: Italy’s Lamont Marcell Jacobs (right) crosses the finish line to win ahead of the US’s Fred Kerley (left), who came second, while Akani Simbine ended fourth in the men’s 100m final during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
(Jewel Samad/AFP)

Bliss and brutality on the Tokyo track

South African sprinters are exciting prospects in an exhilarating new era, and they are young enough to be hitting their strides now

Skating to success: Tamika van As from Bonteheuwel is taking on the figure-skating world. (David Harrison/M&G)

Ice skating champion shows off the Cape Flats talent at nationals

A young ice-skating champion has beaten the odds and brought home a national gold medal

World class: Para-athlete Maria Combrink set a world record in the women’s F64 shot put despite working full-time. Photo: Alet Pretorius/Gallo Images

South Africa’s emerging parasport stars are eager for global success

Though there are still challenges, parasport champions are breaking records on the track and in boardrooms

Caster Semenya may well have run out of legal options after latest loss in Swiss tribunal
 (Michael Dodge/Getty Images)

‘Wrong side of history’: Caster Semenya’s CAS appeal shot down

South Africa’s star Olympic athlete may well have run out of legal options after latest loss in Swiss tribunal

Medalist Simone Biles in action. Athlete A’s take on the USA Gymnastics scandal asks: what goes into making an institution that sacrifices its young?

‘Athlete A’ exposes the ‘cruelty’ of the elite gymnastics machine

The Netflix documentary explores the system that created the conditions for decades of abuse