The curtain has come down on Team SA’s 2022 Commonwealth Games campaign in Birmingham, write Gary Lemke.
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The team went home with a total of 27 medals – seven gold, nine silvers and 11 bronze medals – after the Games were officially closed in a glittering closing ceremony at the Alexander Stadium.
Jovan van Vuuren, who won a bronze medal in the men’s long jump, had the honour of carrying the South African flag at the closing ceremony.
Prince Edward, the Earl of Wessex, has formally invited athletes from around the Commonwealth to come together in Victoria in 2026.
“Until then, on behalf of Her Majesty the Queen and in the name of the Commonwealth Games Federation, I proclaim Birmingham 2022 closed,” he said.
The show was closed by Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath.
Team SA’s performance in a nutshell:
Nine different codes secured medals at the Commonwealth Games – athletics, boxing, lawn bowls, cycling, gymnastics, judo, rugby (sevens), swimming, wrestling. This is an improvement on four years ago at Gold Coast 2018 when there were medals from seven different sports.
However, Team SA were significantly better in 2018 when they won 37 medals (13 gold, 11 silver, 13 bronze) which was good enough for sixth place in the medals table. This time around they finished ninth.
Four sports – boxing, gymnastic, judo, rugby sevens – all featured in the medals in 2022, whereas they didn’t win medals at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
The medals breakdown was as follows: 11 Swimming, 5 Athletics, 2 Bowls, 2 Boxing, 2 Cycling, 2 Judo, 1 Gymnastics, 1 Rugby Sevens, 1 Wrestling.
For the first time in Team SA history, more medals were won by women than men – 14 by women and 13 by men.
There were also several Games records posted: swimmer Lara van Niekerk broke three Games records on the way to winning the women’s 50m breaststroke and Sheryl James broke the Games record in the women’s T37/T38 100m.
Chad le Clos’ silver medal in the 200m butterfly took his Games medals career tally to 18. Only one athlete in Games history has won more medals (Australia’s Emma McKeon with 20).
Charl du Toit, who is a former Paralympic gold medallist and world- record holder, won a silver medal in his final appearance as a para athlete.
Veterans Ndodomzi ‘Jonathan’ Ntutu, 36, and Daryl Impey, 37, won medals, gold and silver respectively, for Team SA and called it one of the best moments of their careers.
The men’s rugby sevens produced one of those most impressive tournaments in Games history in winning the gold medal. In all their matches, they conceded only one try in the second half. Angelo Davids (10) scored the most number of tries in the tournament.
The men’s hockey team finished fourth, just outside the medals, after finishing 10th in Gold Coast four years ago in a sign of good progress.
As with every nation, Team SA were hampered in their medals efforts by a number of squad members having to withdraw due to Covid-19, injury and travel issues.