| Noc: | RSA |
| Nocname: | South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee |
| Games: | Summer Olympics |
| Year: | 1908 |
| Flagcaption: | The Union Flag flew over South Africa before 1910 |
| Oldcode: | ZAF |
| Location: | London |
| Competitors: | 14 |
| Flagbearer: | Doug Stupart[1] |
| Rank: | 14 |
| Gold: | 1 |
| Silver: | 1 |
| Bronze: | 0 |
| Appearances: | auto |
| App Begin Year: | 1904 |
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.
| Medal | Name | Sport | Event | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Athletics | Men's 100 m | ||||
| Athletics | Men's marathon |
See main article: Athletics at the 1908 Summer Olympics.
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| bgcolor=gold | 1st | 11.0 seconds 1st, heat 4 | 10.8 seconds (OR) 1st, semifinal 1 | 10.8 seconds (=OR) | ||
| Semi- finalist | 11.6 seconds 1st, heat 1 | Unknown 3rd, semifinal 3 | bgcolor=lightgray | Did not advance | ||
| — | Did not finish —, heat 11 | Did not advance | ||||
| Heats | Edward Duffy | Unknown 2nd, heat 2 | Did not advance | |||
| Heats | Unknown 3rd, heat 1 | Did not advance | ||||
| 4th | bgcolor=lightgray | None held | Unknown 2nd, semifinal 1 | 25:44.0 | ||
| bgcolor=silver | 2nd | Charles Hefferon | None held | 2:56:06.0 | ||
| — | Did not finish | |||||
| Did not start | ||||||
| Did not start | ||||||
| Vincent | Did not start | |||||
| Event | Place | Athlete | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th | Douglas Stupart | 13.40 metres | ||
See main article: Cycling at the 1908 Summer Olympics.
| Event | Place | Cyclist | Heats | Semifinals | Final | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Semi- finalist | 1:03.2 1st, heat 10 | Unknown 4th, semifinal 2 | bgcolor=lightgray | Did not advance | |||
| Heats | Unknown 2nd, heat 9 | Did not advance | |||||
| Unknown 3rd, heat 16 | |||||||
| — | Time limit exceeded —, heat 5 | ||||||
| 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 | ||||||
| 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 | ||||||
| — | T. H. E. Passmore | bgcolor=lightgray | None held | Did not finish —, semifinal 2 | bgcolor=lightgray | Did not advance | |
| Semi- finalist | Floris Venter | 1:33.2 1st, heat 2 | Unknown 3rd, semifinal 1 | bgcolor=lightgray | Did not advance | ||
| Heats | Philipus Frylink | Unknown 2nd, heat 8 | Did not advance | ||||
| — | Frank Shore | Time limit exceeded —, heat 16 | |||||
| Heats | Philipus Frylink Floris Venter | Unknown 2nd, heat 5 | Did not finish | ||||
See main article: Fencing at the 1908 Summer Olympics.
| Event | Place | Fencer | First round | Second round | Semi- final | Final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First round | 3-5 (6th in B) | Did not advance | |||||
| First round | Walter Gates | 0-5 (6th in H) | Did not advance | ||||
See main article: Tennis at the 1908 Summer Olympics.
| Event | Place | Name | Round of 64 | Round of 32 | Round of 16 | Quarter- finals | Semi- finals | Final | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4th | Bye | Bye | bgcolor=lightgray | Did not advance | ||||||
| 16th | Bye | Did not advance | ||||||||
| Bye | Lost to Caridia | |||||||||
| 4th | Vincent Gauntlett Harold Kitson | bgcolor=lightgray | None held | Bye | bgcolor=lightgray | Did not advance | ||||
| Opponent nation | Wins | Losses | Percent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 1.000 | ||
| 2 | 0 | 1.000 | ||
| 1 | 1 | .500 | ||
| 0 | 3 | .000 | ||
| Total | 4 | 4 | .500 |