As the glow from South Africa doubling its medal haul at this year's Paris Olympics from fours years ago fades, the focus moves to Los Angeles.
In 2020, South Africa brought home just three medals. In 2024, Team SA brought home six.
Is the SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) doing enough now to ensure our athletes will perform at their optimum at the next Games?
As Jonathan Jansen wrote in a recent TimesLive column, Ukraine, which is at war with Russia, managed to bring home 12 medals. Norway, which has a population of 5.5 million people, took home eight medals. By all accounts, Team SA should be in the same stakes.
As has previously been the case in past Olympics, funding remains an issue. Sascoc's Operation Excellence (OpEx) programme, which was designed to support athletes with potential to qualify for and excel at major international sporting events currently has 74 athletes in its programme. A total of 138 athletes were part of Team SA in Paris and competed in 19 sports, including gymnastics, rugby sevens, swimming, surfing, canoeing, climbing, and athletics. Nine reserve players were on standby.
Three of the medals Team SA recieved were not funded through OpEx.
Jo-Ane van Dyk, who walked away with a silver medal, told the media she was funded by her parents throughout her journey to the Olympics.
Bronze medallist mountain-biker Alan Hatherly reportedly turned down an OpEx offer, while the Blitzboks who also got a bronze are funded by SA Rugby.
Despite being part of the OpEx programme, sprinter Akani Simbane, who was part of the men's 4x100m relay team, which bagged silver, spoke out about his frustrations with the programme in the months leading up to the Olympics.
He told the SABC in March that he had not received full assistance and had to dig into his own pockets to ensure his coach and physio could travel with him.
"I think a lot of athletes have a lot of financial stress. You just don't know how you are going to travel and who will cover your traveling costs, for you and your team - which is something I have tried to change over the years," he told SABC Sport at the time.
Just a few weeks before the Games, to stem the funding gap, The National Lotteries Commission gave the South African Olympic team in Paris a nearly R28-million grant, but with strict conditions.
For our athletes to manage what they did under the financial constraints they appear to have faced is nothing less than a miracle.
In this week's Friday Briefing, we look ahead to the LA Games and what our government and Sascoc need to do to put our athletes on an equal footing with athletes from countries around the world if we are going to improve our medal haul.
News24's sports editor Lloyd Burnard argues that in four years' time, Team SA will enter a new era as the country will be without three of its most recognisable athletes. With that in mind, he writes that work needs to start now on finding and nurturing new talent.
News24's in-depth writer Muhammad Hussain chats to two experts who detail why SASCOC has been battling to get funding following a scandal, and what government and federations should consider doing if they want to ensure Olympic success.
Award-winning sports journalist Lungani Zama reflects on the performance of countries like the United States, France and China. He argues it is not just about luck, but all comes down to planning, and if Team SA is going to ensure it is on the podium in 2028, funding and structures must be put in place to enable young talent to be nurtured accordingly.
We hope this week's edition of Friday Briefing gives you better insight into the challenges government and Sascoc face if they want make sure Team SA's medal haul is bigger than that of Paris 2024.
Best,
Vanessa Banton
Opinions editor.
