Backstroke king Pieter Coetzé will spearhead Team South Africa’s charge for gold medals at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow from July 23 to August 2. The 112-strong squad announced this week will be aiming to finish higher than the ninth place from four years ago.
Coetzé — the favourite in the 100m, 200m and 50m backstroke events — will also be the cornerstone of a couple of relay teams.
The South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) is placing a premium on relays across athletics and swimming, especially following the success of the two track-and-field outfits.
The men’s 4x100m team won Olympic silver at Paris 2024 and the men’s 4x400m contingent took world championship bronze in Tokyo last year.
There is no gender-specific 4x400m relay in Glasgow — the number of events has been cut as part of the rescue deal after the Scottish city that staged the 2014 showpiece took over as host from Victoria, Australia — but South Africa is entering a powerful 4x100m team that has the potential to win gold.
Gift Leotlela, Sinesipho Dambile, Bradley Nkoana and Akani Simbine are bidding to land what would be the country’s first-ever 4x100m Games gold.
Aiming for gold
Dambile is the favourite for the men’s 200m and Jo-Ane du Plessis, the Olympic silver medallist, is aiming for gold in the women’s javelin. Visually impaired Masala Makatu in the T12 100m could be the best bet of a gold medal among the disabled athletes.
Lara van Niekerk, the defending champion in the 50m and 100m breaststroke, will be in the mix in the one-lap race.
World championship bronze medallist Kaylene Corbett faces a tough battle in the 200m breaststroke against Angharad Evans of Scotland.
Also in the running here is Rebecca Meder, while US-based Aimee Canny, one of the stars of the national championships this year, is another key member of the team.
The likes of Michael Houlie (50m breaststroke), Chris Smith (50m and 100m breaststroke), and Erin Gallagher (50m and 100m butterfly) are also in the hunt for silverware.
The noticeable shake-up in swimming is the focus on relays, with South Africa entering teams in seven of the eight events, with the exception being the men’s 4x200m freestyle.
But gold will be a tough ask in a realm where Australia and Canada boast some world-beaters. The last time South Africa won a Commonwealth Games swimming relay was at Melbourne 2006, by the men’s 4x100m freestyle outfit, the 2004 Olympic champions.
That happens to be more recent than South Africa’s last track and field relay triumph — in the men’s 4x440 yards at Cardiff 1958.
Serious firepower
Lythe Pillay and Zakithi Nene are expected to play second fiddle to Botswana’s world champion Collen Kebinatshipi in the 400m, but the two add serious firepower to the mixed 4x400m team.
Marioné Fourie has been delivering in the 100m hurdles this season and Prudence Sekgodiso would like to step up a gear in the women’s 800m.
Then there are medal hopes in other sports, like the national netball team which scored a series win over England early this year.
Gymnast Caitlin Rooskrantz won bronze in the uneven bars at the last Games and was part of the women’s team that finished fourth overall.
Bowls, weightlifting, boxing and judo will also want to contribute to the national haul.
Among the sports missing from the 2026 edition is rugby sevens, in which the Blitzboks took gold in 2022.
At the last Glasgow Games, South Africa finished seventh. The best placing since readmission is fifth, achieved on three occasions — Kuala Lumpur 1998, Melbourne 2006 and Delhi 2010.
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