South Africa finished 42nd overall in the final standings with six medals.
South Africa’s campaign came to a close at the Olympic Games in Paris on Sunday, with Cian Oldknow leading a trio of athletes across the line in the women’s marathon.
Oldknow, running only her third competitive marathon, took 32nd position in the 42km race in 2:30:29.
Irvette van Zyl, a four-time Olympian, was 37th in 2:31:14. National record holder Gerda Steyn, who had a punishing racing schedule this year which saw her breaking three ultra-marathon records in the build-up to the Games, finished 45th in 2:32:51.
Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands won the race in 2:22:55, setting a new Olympic record.
Medal haul
The SA team will return home with six medals from the quadrennial multi-sport showpiece.
Breaststroke swimmer Tatjana Smith led the charge, securing gold and silver in the pool, while javelin thrower Jo-Ane van Dyk and the SA 4x100m relay team bagged silver medals, ending the track and field squad’s seven-year podium drought at major global championships.
Alan Hatherly secured bronze in the men’s mountain bike cross country race, and the Blitzboks snatched a surprise bronze in the men’s rugby sevens tournament.
South Africa finished 42nd in the medals table, with one gold, three silver and two bronze.
