Defending Olympic 400m champion Wayde van Niekerk has been knocked out of the Tokyo Games after finishing fifth in his semifinal.
Of Team SA’s 13 medal contenders going into the showpiece, only swimmer Tatjana Schoenmaker converted with her double strike in the pool.
Surfer Bianca Buitendag’s silver was unexpected, and Team SA will be praying for more success from the outliers if they want to finish with more than three medals. There will be hope in the marathons and even the open-water swimming. Ashleigh Buhai could have a shot in the women’s golf tournament. What about one of the sport climbers?
But the world record-holder, in his toughest race since returning from a terrible knee injury sustained in 2017, faded while coming out of the final bend and crossed the line in 45.14sec.
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