THE 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio have been a joy to watch, made all the sweeter because South African athletes performed so magnificently, bringing home a clutch of medals that equals the most SA has won in history. I hate to ask, but does that triumph put hosting the Olympics back on the agenda? I would love to be able to say yes in good conscience, but alas, I don’t think so.Although it was such a pleasure to see SA winning medals again, it should be noted that SA’s performance — although much better than the six medals won in 2012 in London, and wiping out the disaster of Beijing in 2008 of only one medal — was comparatively a modest achievement. SA’s 10 medals put it about 27th in the tournament, behind the African top performer, Kenya, with 12 medals.The last time SA won 10 medals was in Helsinki in 1952, but then there were only 149 events, compared to the 306 today. SA also won 10 medals in the 1920 Games in Antwerp, but then half of Europe wasn’t allowed to compete because of...
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