SA ’ s Unique One-Two Stockholm , 14 July 1912
The 1912 Olympic Marathon in Stockholm , Sweden was the first to be held on an out-and-back course , in this case from the brand-new Olympic Stadium to the village of Sollentuna , where the turn was made at the little church that still stands today . The race was run on a very hot day , and conditions were aggravated by the start being just before 2pm , while the distance of the race was shortened to the more ‘ traditional ’ 40.2km . ( The distance of 42.195km , which was used four years at the London Games , would become the standard marathon distance in 1924 .)
Ken McArthur
At the turn , South Africa ’ s Chris Gitsham was leading , followed by Finn Tatu Kolehmainen and Gitsham ’ s South African compatriot , Kennedy McArthur . Near the finish , Gitsham stopped at a drinks table and McArthur went ahead to win in 2:36:54 . Gitsham was second in 2:37:52 , and Gaston Strobino ( USA ) took third in 2:38:42 . It was
Chris Gitsham
SA ’ s Medallists in Olympic Athletics
To date , South Africa has competed at a total of 20 Olympic Games and has won a
total of 89 medals ( 27 gold , 33 silver , 29 bronze ) in 11 different sports , with athletics ( 28 ) producing the most medals , followed by swimming ( 20 ) and boxing ( 19 ). The full list of 28 athletics medallists appears below , comprising 9 gold ( in bold ), 13 silver and 6 bronze medals , including the incredible feat of Bevil Rudd in 1920 , when he claimed a gold , a silver and a bronze medal !
MEDAL NAME GAMES EVENT Gold Reggie Walker 1908 London Men ' s 100m Silver Charles Hefferon 1908 London Men ' s Marathon Gold Ken McArthur 1912 Stockholm Men ' s Marathon Silver Christian Gitsham 1912 Stockholm Men ' s Marathon Gold Bevil Rudd 1920 Antwerp Men ' s 400m Silver
Henry Dafel , Jack Oosterlak , Clarence Oldfield , Bevil Rudd
1920 Antwerp Men ' s 4x400m Relay
Bronze Bevil Rudd 1920 Antwerp Men ' s 800m Silver Sydney Atkinson 1924 Paris Men ' s 110m Hurdles Bronze Cecil McMaster 1924 Paris Men ' s 10 Km Walk Gold Sydney Atkinson 1928 Amsterdam Men ' s 110m Hurdles Bronze Marjorie Clark 1932 Los Angeles Women ' s 80m Hurdles
the last time that the first two runners in an Olympic marathon came from the same country , and South Africa had to wait 84 years before it won the marathon gold again ( see below ). It was also the sixth and last marathon for McArthur , who was an outstanding track and cross-country runner as well – he had won the SA 10-mile title three months before the Olympics . He retired from marathon-running having never lost a race .
SA Dominance in Sweden
Enjoy some classic footage of the 1912 Olympic Marathon in Stockholm , and it ’ s easy to spot the South Africans , thanks to their darkcoloured running kit … and the fact that they finished first and second !
Thugwane ’ s Golden Moment Atlanta , 4 August 1996
At the Atlanta Olympics in the USA , marathoner Josiah Thugwane made history when he became the first black athlete to earn a gold medal for South Africa , but his path to gold was anything but easy . Having grown up in poverty , he discovered his running talent by chance , going on to run his first marathon in 1991 and narrowly missing selection to run the 1992 Olympic Marathon in Barcelona . In February 1996 , he won the SA Marathon Champs title , which booked his spot on the SA team for the 1996 Olympic Marathon . However , just five months before the Games , he was carjacked and shot , the bullet grazing his chin , and he injured his back when jumping from the moving car . Thankfully , he recovered in time for the Olympics .
Josiah Thugwane
In Atlanta , a large leading pack stayed in contact with each other for much of the race , with Thugwane and SA teammates Gert Thys and Lawrence Peu leading the way . At 35km , Thugwane initiated a breakaway , with only Lee Bong-Ju of South Korea and Kenya ’ s Erick Wainaina able to go with him . These three took turns leading until near the finish , when Thugwane accelerated as the other two slowed to take water , opening a small lead that he maintained all the way to the finish . Thugwane won in 2:12:36 , with Bon-Ju finishing three seconds adrift and Wainaina a further five seconds back , in what remains the closest ever finish to an Olympic marathon . ( Peu finished 27th in 2:18:09 , with Thys 33rd in 2:18:55 .)
Josiah ’ s Incredible Story
Enjoy this lookback at the enthralling men ’ s marathon at the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games , which saw the closest ever finish in the event ’ s history as SA ’ s Josiah Thugwane took the gold medal .
Gold Esther Brand 1952 Helsinki Women ' s High Jump Silver Daphne Robb-Hasenjäger 1952 Helsinki Women ' s 100m Bronze Malcolm Spence 1960 Rome Men ' s 400m Silver Elana Meyer 1992 Barcelona Women ' s 10,000m Gold Josia Thugwane 1996 Atlanta Men ' s Marathon Silver Hezekiel Sepeng 1996 Atlanta Men ' s 800m Silver Hestrie Cloete 2000 Sydney Women ' s High Jump Bronze Llewellyn Herbert 2000 Sydney Men ' s 400m Hurdles
Bronze Frantz Kruger 2000 Sydney Men ' s Discus Silver Mbulaeni Mulaudzi 2004 Athens Men ' s 800m Silver Hestrie Cloete 2004 Athens Women ' s High Jump Silver Khotso Mokoena 2008 Beijing Men ' s Long Jump Gold Caster Semenya 2012 London Women ' s 800m Gold Wayde Van Niekerk 2016 Rio de Janeiro Men ' s 400m Gold Caster Semenya 2016 Rio de Janeiro Women ' s 800m Silver Luvo Manyonga 2016 Rio de Janeiro Men ' s Long Jump Silver Sunette Viljoen 2016 Rio de Janeiro Women ' s Javelin
About the Author
These stats and results are drawn from the weekly Distance Running Results mailer compiled by internationally acclaimed athletics statistician Riël Hauman , who has more than 50 years ’ experience as a journalist , author , publisher , commentator , pundit , administrator , event organiser , coach , team manager and runner in South African athletics , road running and cross country . He is also a former editor of the South African Athletics Annual , and author of two books , Hardloop en Lééf and Century of the Marathon 1896-1996 . To subscribe to his weekly newsletter , send him a mail at rielh @ mweb . co . za .
9