South Africa at the 1908 Summer Olympics

South Africa at the
1908 Summer Olympics
South Africa at the; 1908 Summer Olympics
	The Union Flag flew over South Africa before 1910
IOC code	RSA
NOC	South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee
Website	www.sascoc.co.za
in London
Competitors	14
Flag bearer	Doug Stupart
Medals; Ranked 14th	Gold 1 Silver 1 Bronze 0 Total 2
Summer Olympics appearances (overview)
	1904; 1908; 1912; 1920; 1924; 1928; 1932; 1936; 1948; 1952; 1956; 1960; 1964–1988; 1992; 1996; 2000; 2004; 2008; 2012; 2016; 2020; 2024;

South Africa competed at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom. At the time, South Africa consisted of four separate British colonies — the Cape Colony, Natal Colony, the Orange River Colony and the Transvaal Colony; they would form the Union of South Africa in 1910. At the 1908 Olympics, the South African team competed under a flag described as "the Red Ensign with a springbok in the corner."^[2]^[3]

Hurdler Doug Stupart carried the flag at the opening ceremony.

Medalists

Medal	Name	Sport	Event	Date
Gold	Reggie Walker	Athletics	Men's 100 m	July 22
Silver	Charles Hefferon	Athletics	Men's marathon	July 24

Results by event

Athletics

South Africa was one of 5 nations to win at least one gold medal in athletics, taking the gold medal in the short sprint. Reggie Walker was the 100 metres champion, setting a new Olympic record in the semifinals and matching it in the final. Charles Hefferon added a silver medal in the marathon.

Event	Place	Athlete	Heats	Semifinals	Final

Men's 100 metres	1st	Reggie Walker	11.0 seconds 1st, heat 4	10.8 seconds (OR) 1st, semifinal 1	10.8 seconds (=OR)
	Semi- finalist	Edward Duffy	11.6 seconds 1st, heat 1	Unknown 3rd, semifinal 3	Did not advance
	—	Herbert Phillips	Did not finish —, heat 11	Did not advance

Men's 200 metres	Heats	Edward Duffy	Unknown 2nd, heat 2	Did not advance

Men's 110 metre hurdles	Heats	Douglas Stupart	Unknown 3rd, heat 1	Did not advance

Men's 5 miles	4th	Charles Hefferon	None held	Unknown 2nd, semifinal 1	25:44.0

Men's marathon	2nd	Charles Hefferon	None held		2:56:06.0
	—	J. N. Mitchell-Baker			Did not finish
		A. B. Mole			Did not start
		C. E. Stevens			Did not start
		Vincent			Did not start

Event	Place	Athlete	Distance

Men's triple jump	10th	Douglas Stupart	13.40 metres

Cycling

Event	Place	Cyclist	Heats	Semifinals	Final

Men's 660 yards	Semi- finalist	Floris Venter	1:03.2 1st, heat 10	Unknown 4th, semifinal 2	Did not advance
	Heats	T. H. E. Passmore	Unknown 2nd, heat 9	Did not advance
	Heats	Philipus Frylink	Unknown 3rd, heat 16
	—	Frank Shore	Time limit exceeded —, heat 5

Men's 5000 metres	Semi- finalist	Philipus Frylink	None held	Unknown 3rd, semifinal 3	Did not advance
		T. H. E. Passmore		Unknown 4th, semifinal 4
		Floris Venter		Unknown 4-7, semifinal 7
		Frank Shore		Unknown 4-9, semifinal 5

Men's 20 kilometres	Semi- finalist	Floris Venter	None held	32:34.4 3rd, semifinal 2	Did not advance
		T. H. E. Passmore		32:39.4 3rd, semifinal 4
		Frank Shore		33:40.0 2nd, semifinal 3

Men's 100 kilometres	—	T. H. E. Passmore	None held	Did not finish —, semifinal 2	Did not advance

Men's sprint	Semi- finalist	Floris Venter	1:33.2 1st, heat 2	Unknown 3rd, semifinal 1	Did not advance
	Heats	Philipus Frylink	Unknown 2nd, heat 8	Did not advance
	—	Frank Shore	Time limit exceeded —, heat 16	Did not advance

Men's tandem	Heats	Philipus Frylink Floris Venter	Unknown 2nd, heat 5	Did not finish

Fencing

Event	Place	Fencer	First round	Second round

Men's épée	First round	Walter Gates	3-5 (6th in B)	Did not advance

Men's sabre	First round	Walter Gates	0-5 (6th in H)	Did not advance

Tennis

Event	Place	Name	Round of 64	Round of 32	Round of 16	Quarter- finals	Semi- finals	Final

Men's singles	4th	John Richardson	Bye	Bye	Defeated Foulkes	Defeated Brown	Lost to Froitzheim	Did not advance
	16th	Vincent Gauntlett	Bye	Lost to Ritchie	Did not advance
	16th	Harold Kitson	Bye	Lost to Caridia	Did not advance

Men's doubles	4th	Vincent Gauntlett Harold Kitson	None held	Bye	Defeated Hykš/Slíva	Defeated Froitzheim/Schomburgk	Lost to Cazalet/Dixon	Did not advance

Opponent nation	Wins	Losses	Percent
Bohemia	1	0	1.000
Canada	2	0	1.000
Germany	1	1	.500
Great Britain	0	3	.000

Total	4	4	.500

References

^ "Doug Stupart". olympedia.org. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
^ Goldblatt, D. (2016:77). The Games: A Global History of the Olympics. United Kingdom: Pan Macmillan.
^ Jenkins, R. (2011). The First London Olympics: 1908. United Kingdom: Little, Brown Book Group.

Cook, Theodore Andrea (1908). The Fourth Olympiad, Being the Official Report. London: British Olympic Association.
De Wael, Herman (2001). "Top London 1908 Olympians". Herman's Full Olympians. Retrieved 6 June 2006.