Cameron van der Burgh Returns to the Medal Stand and Kicks off South Africa’s Medal Streak with Silver in Men’s 100m Breaststroke
Swimmer Cameron van der Burgh brought home South Africa’s first medal of the Rio Games with a second-place finish in the men’s 100m breaststroke. The event’s defending champion was bested by 21-year-old Brit Adam Peaty, who set a world record with a time of 57.13.
And although he came up short of a repeat victory, returning to the medal stand was still a ridiculous feat for the 28-year-old from Pretoria. As Sport24 reports, van der Burgh is just the seventh South African to medal at more than one set of Games, and just the second men’s 100m breaststroke gold medallist to make it back to the podium four years later.
“I’m really happy. It’s a been a tough four years‚ there’s been a lot of ups‚ a lot of downs‚ but winning a medal is something that’s tangible,” van der Burgh, who battled a serious shoulder injury post-London 2012, told reporters after the race.
Rower Lawrence Brittain Beats Cancer and Wins Silver in Men’s Pair with Shaun Keeling
Rowers Lawrence Brittain and Shaun Keeling picked up South Africa’s third medal of the Games with silver in the men’s pair. Clocking in at 7:02.51, they beat the third-place Italians by just over two seconds. New Zealand pulled away in first with a time of 6:59.71.
In October 2014, Brittain, now 25, was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He’d been living with the condition for two years before undergoing six three-week cycles of chemotherapy. In February 2015, he completed his final chemo session. From then on, his focus was back to rowing. Less than 18 months later, he heads back to South Africa with an Olympic medal.
Luvo Manyonga Overcomes Demons and Wins Silver in the Men’s Long Jump
Luvo Manyonga leapt his way to South Africa’s sixth medal of the Games with a second-place finish in the men’s long jump. He was .01m off from picking up Team SA’s first gold of 2016. American Jeff Henderson eclipsed the South African jumper’s personal best on his sixth and final attempt.
Manyonga’s story is one of the most inspiring to come out of Rio. The South African track-and-field star battled years of drug addiction to place his stake in Olympic history.
“The demons have been trying to pull me down but look at my face … look at me standing here,” Manyonga told SASCOC after the race.
* Akani Simbine Makes History as the First South African to Qualify for the Men’s 100m Final
Since 1932
Sprinter Akani Simbine didn’t medal, but his performance in the men’s 100m deserves respect. The 22-year-old from Kempton Park, Johannesburg, ran a phenomenal race and proved he could his own against the world’s fastest men, Usain Bolt and Justin Gatlin.
Simbine, who holds South Africa’s 100m national record, came in fifth with a time of 9.94 seconds. He was just .01 shy of Jamaica’s Yohan Blake in fourth and .03 off of Canada’s Andre De Grasse in third.
Lining up to the final was a historic feat in itself. In doing so, Simbine became the first South African to qualify for the men’s 100m final since Danie Joubert in 1932. The young runner is definitely one to watch for at the 2017 IAAF World Championships in London.
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