SA ON UPWARD CURVE

The national team’s performance in Paris is a marked improvement on the effort in Tokyo.

- Wesley Botton

Heading into the Paris Olympics, the SA team's medal chances looked to be few and far between, and while they did not achieve a record haul at the showpiece which concluded yesterday, they did well to secure six podium places.

Some performances were predicted in advance, with the likes of Tatjana Smith, Alan Hatherly and the men's 4x100m sprint relay team living up to the hype.

There were also some surprises, however, with javelin thrower Jo-Ane van Dyk delivering the performance of her life and the Blitzboks finding some long-awaited form.

Smith was the star of the show, and while she did not win gold in her favoured 200m breaststroke event, she held on for silver after producing a superb performance to win gold in the 100m breaststroke.