By Bhekizenzo Zonele
South Africa claimed three medals in the opening days of the Dakar Youth Olympic Games, with the boys’ rugby sevens team winning silver and swimmers Leah Markgraaff and Chanel Veldsman securing silver and bronze respectively.
The country’s medal tally rose to three on Monday, 2 November, when the Under-17 boys’ rugby sevens team claimed silver following a dramatic 26–19 defeat to France, while Veldsman won bronze in the women’s 200m breaststroke.
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The two medals followed Markgraaff’s silver in the women’s 400m freestyle on Sunday, bringing South Africa’s tally to two silver medals and one bronze.
These achievements hold greater significance as they come at a historic edition of the Youth Olympic Games, the first Olympic sporting event to be hosted on African soil.
Senegal is welcoming young athletes from around the world from 31 October to 13 November.
South Africa’s rugby sevens side came agonisingly close to claiming gold after a spirited second-half comeback in the final against France.
The South Africans went into half-time trailing 21–5, but fought back with two converted tries from Jake Dave, reducing the deficit to just two points at 21–19 with a minute remaining.
However, an error from the restart allowed France to score a try on the final hooter and secure the gold medal, denying South Africa a historic victory.
Despite the defeat, head coach Sandile Ngcobo praised his team’s determination and resilience throughout the tournament.
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“I am really proud of the fight we showed throughout the tournament and I thought we could have won the final. In a match like that it comes down to the finest margins and mere moments and unfortunately those margins did not fall our way,” Ngcobo said.
The South Africans had displayed similar resilience earlier in the semi-final against Argentina, recovering from 12–0 down to win 24–12 and book their place in the final.
A first-half try from Darnell Delport, another from Kingsley Pule and two from Rosco Williams helped South Africa turn the contest in their favour.
Williams attributed the team’s performance to unity and the responsibility of representing the country.
“We do not play for ourselves, we play for each other, and we do it for the country. We are the lucky ones that get to wear this jersey, but it does not mean we are fighting for ourselves. It is our responsibility to give our all for everyone back home. South Africans never give up,” Williams said.
Meanwhile, in the swimming pool, Veldsman added another medal to South Africa’s collection after finishing third in the women’s 200m breaststroke in 2:30.87, behind Japan’s Mana Ishikawa and China’s Mohan Chang.
Her bronze followed Markgraaff’s silver in the women’s 400m freestyle, where she clocked 4:26.13 to finish behind Ecuador’s Elvira Espinosa.
