Rio 2016: South Africa at the Games – all the times, events and highlights

If you’re a fan of the Olympics, best you get your coffee IV drip ready because the time difference is going to be painful. The five-hour time lapse might not sound like much, but with many of the quarter and semi-finals taking place late in the evening in Rio, it’s pretty brutal. The only slight relief is that the heats – the stages before crunch time – are almost all at reasonable times.

South Africa has also managed to clobber together the biggest Olympic team since readmission, so if you’re a keen follower of the games and want to watch every single South African athlete competing, it’s going to take some serious planning. The only slight relief is that the heats – the stages before crunch time – are almost all at reasonable times.

Luckily, we’ve got you covered. All the events in which South African athletes will definitely compete as well as the finals and semi-finals they could reach are listed below. All events except for rowing, sevens and football are listed day-by-day.

Friday, 5 August

There are no events on this day, but the opening ceremony starts at 23:00.

Saturday, 6 August

13:30 The first gold medal is up for grabs with the women’s 10m air rifle, but South Africa have no competitors in this event.

14:30 The men’s cycling road race will feature Daryl Impey and Louis Meintjes as well as Chris Froome, who races for TeamGB, but is broadly claimed as a South African.

15:00-21:05 Tanya Seymour will try to get her horse to dance at the first day of the dressage.

18:00-20:30 Plenty of swimming action with a round of heats, including South Africa’s Myles Brown in the 400m freestyle as well as Michael Meyer and Sebastien Rousseau in the 400m individual medley. Cameron van der Burgh is also in action in the 100m breaststroke.

Sunday, 7 August

03:00-04:55 More action in the pool with the men’s 400m individual medley final. Two South Africans – Michael Myer and Sebastien Rousseau – could feature if they make it through their heats. Myles Brown could also be in action the 400m Freestyle Final.

20:00-21:10 Julia Vincent takes part in the 3m springboard diving event.

17:15 It’s the women’s cycling road race with Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio and An-Li Kachelhoffer competing for South Africa.

18:00-20:20 Sunday is the first time we'll see Chad le Clos in action. He’s swimming in the 200m freestyle heats. Myles Brown will take part in the same event while Christopher Reid is in action in the 100m backstroke.

Monday, 8 August

03:00-05:15 It’s the 200m men’s freestyle semi-finals and the men’s 100m backstroke semi-finals which could see two South Africans competing for medals. Cameron van der Burgh could also be in action the 100m men’s breaststroke final.

17:30-21:00 Bridgitte Hartley is in action in the K1 canoeing sprint.

Tuesday, 9 August

03:00-04:59 It could be a Chad le Clos and Michael Phelps 2012 rematch with the men’s 200m butterfly semifinal, provided of course they’ve both made it through their heats. It’s also the men’s 100m backstroke final and the men’s 200m freestyle final; both events could feature a South African athlete.

16:00-22:00 Once you’ve woken from your slumber following the swimming excitement, the Blitzboks play their pool matches starting off with Spain at 16:30 followed by France at 21:30.

18:00-19:40 Sandwiched in between the rugby, Cameron van der Burgh will be swimming in the men’s 200m breaststroke heats while the South African men’s freestyle relay team is also in action in the heats.

Wednesday, 10 August

03:00-05:10 Chad le Clos could be swimming in the 200m men’s butterfly final while Cameron van der Burgh could be in the men’s 200m breaststroke final and the men’s freestyle relay team could also be competing for a medal.

Thursday, 11 August

03:00-05:25 It’s not all hellish for this session. Cameron van der Burgh could be in action in the men’s 200m breaststroke final, but it should be the first event of the session. That means you can wake up, watch van der Burgh win a medal and get right back to sleep.

Starting at 13:00, Jacob Malieka will be playing in the group stages of the men’s singles badminton. The group stages carry on until 23:00, so you’ll be able to catch some of the action at some point during the day.

12:30-21:00 Brandon Stone and Jaco van Zyl are in action on day one of the men’s golf.

18:00-20:15 Some early evening heats see Douglas Erasmus and Brad Tandy in action in the men’s 50m freestyle while Chad le Clos swims in the men’s 100m butterfly heats.

Friday, 12 August

03:00-04:55 Some more possible early morning pool action. Erasmus and Tandy could be in action in the semi-finals of the 50m freestyle while Chad Le Clos could be in action in the 100m butterfly finals. If it’s Michael Phelps you want to watch, then you’ll definitely have to tune in.

14:30-18:10 Dominique Scott is running the women’s 10km while Jacob Rozani and Reinhardt van Rensburg is running in the first round of the men’s 800m.

12:30-21:00 Brandon Stone and Jaco van Zyl are in action on day one of the men’s golf.

19:30 Between the swimming action, tune in for a little bit of mincing with Lebogang Shange and Wayne Snyman wiggling their hips in the men’s 20km race.

18:00-20:20 Matthew Meyer will swim in the 1,500m freestyle heats and the 100m Medley Relay team will also be in action in their heats.

Saturday, 13 August

01:20-04:25 Wayde van Niekerk is in action for the first time, running the first round of the men’s 400m. Three long jumpers – Stefan Brits, Luvo Manyonga and Rushwahl Samaai are also taking part in the first round of heats. Also in action are two of South Africa’s female sprinters – Alyssa Conley and Carina Horn are running the women’s 100m heats.

12:30-21:00 Brandon Stone and Jaco van Zyl are in action on day one of the men’s golf, if they make the cut.

03:00-04:30 Best be sure you’re up early (or stay up late). It’s the men’s 100m butterfly final which could feature Michael Phelps and Chad le Clos. South Africa could also have a contender in the men’s 50m freestyle.

14:30-17:50 Once you’ve recovered from the marathon of Olympic watching earlier in the morning, tune in for Justine Palframan and Tsholofelo Thipe running in the first round of the women’s 400ms and Henricho Bruintjies, Anaso Jobodwana and Akani Simbine – African record holder in the 100ms – slogging it out on the track.

Sunday, 14 August

01:00-04:15 Wayde van Niekerk could be in action in the men’s 400m semi-finals while South Africa’s two female sprinters could be running in the women’s 100m semi-finals and might feature n the final later on in the evening if they make it through. It’s also the men’s long jump final and the men’s 800m semi-finals. If you want to see world record holder and the world’s leading 800m runner, David Rudisha in action, forget getting any sleep. Also in action in the men’s 10k is Stephen Mokoka. The women’s marathon is also on and South Africa have four athletes competing.

03:00-04:40 It’s the finals of the men’s 1,500m freestyle and the men’s medley relay. South Africa might have a contender in the relay, but it’s Sunday. We suggest you stay in bed and catch the highlights and settle in for Michelle Weber swimming in the 10k marathon at 13:00.

12:30-21:00 Brandon Stone and Jaco van Zyl are in action on day one of the men’s golf, if they make the cut.

Monday, 15 August

01:15-03:30 It’s the women’s 400m semi-finals and the men’s 100m semi-finals which will almost definitely feature Usain Bolt. South Africa could have athletes in both events, but that all depends on how they do in their heats. Wayde van Niekerk could be running in the men’s 400m final and Bolt will try to break his own record in the 100m men’s final.

14:30-17:10 Winding down your Monday, South Africa’s Godfrey Khotso Mokoena is in action in the men’s triple jump qualifying round. Later that afternoon, South Africa has four 400m hurdlers in the first round and one female runner in the women’s event.

Tuesday, 16 August

01:15-03:50 Two South African competitors take to the track for the first time in their events with the men’s 110m hurdles featuring Antonio Alkana and Alyssa Conley runs the women’s 200m. Kenya’s David Rudisha will feature in the men’s 800m final and so could two South African athletes. The women’s 400m will also be taking place.

Just one event in the pool with Chad Ho swimming the 10km marathon at 13:00.

14:30-17:40 Anaso Jobodwana and Akani Simbine will be running in the first round of the men's 200m.

Wednesday, 17 August

01:15-03:50 South Africa’s Sunette Viljoen will be throwing javelin in the qualifiers while Lynique Prinsloo will try to qualify for the long jump. It's also the semi-finals and finals of the men’s 110m hurdles and women’s 400m hurdles, and all four events could feature South Africans athletes.

Starting from 14:30 and heading through to early the next morning, Willem Coertzen will be taking part in the various men’s decathlon events. Stephen Mokoko is also running the first round of the men’s 5,000m in the late afternoon and Caster Semenya in action for the first time, running the first round of the women’s 800m in the afternoon session – some time between 14:30 and 18:05.

12:30-21:00 Paula Reto and Ashleigh Simon are in action in the women’s golf.

18:30-20:15 Kyle Dodd is in action in the men’s BMX first round.

22:45-04:05 In the late evening session it’s the women's long jump final, the men’s 200m semi-final and women’s 200m final, all of which could feature South African athletes.

Thursday, 18 August

Willem Coertzen continues his decathlon challenge throughout the afternoon, starting at about 14:30 and continuing into the late evening. The late session – which runs from 23:35 to 03:35 could also feature Sunette Viljoen in the women’s javelin final. The late session also features the 400m women’s final and the men’s 200m final.

16:00-18:30 Richard Murray and Henri Schoeman will compete in the men’s triathlon.

12:30-21:00 Paula Reto and Ashleigh Simon are in action in the women’s golf.

Friday, 19 August

Marc Mundell is in action in the men’s 50km walk, starting at 13:00 while Anel Oosthuizen is walking the 20m race starting at 19:30.

12:30-21:00 Paula Reto and Ashleigh Simon are in action in the women’s golf, if they make the cut.

Saturday, 20 August

12:30-21:00 Paula Reto and Ashleigh Simon are in action in the women's golf, if they make the cut.

16:00-18:40 Mari Rabie and Gillian Sanders will compete for South Africa in the women’s triathlon.

Sunday, 21 August

01:10-04:00 It’s the final of the men’s javelin and the men’s 5,000m final while the women’s 800m final could see Caster Semenya going for gold.

14:30-17:15 The late afternoon session has three of South Africa’s athletes competing in the men’s marathon.

17:30-19:30 Alan Hatherly and James Reid are riding in the men’s cross country mountain biking event.

Rowing, football and Sevens Rugby

Rowing:

South Africa have a men’s pair, a men’s lightweight double sculls and a men’s four team entered into the rowing events and a women’s pair and lightweight double sculls team. All rowing events take place from 6-13 August in the afternoon sessions starting at 13:30.

Football:

Both the men and women’s teams qualified for the Olympics. Banyana Banyana start the tournament with a match against Sweden with their opening fixture at 18:00 on 3 August. They then take on China on 7 August at 00:00 and then meet hosts Brazil on 10 August at 02:00. The quarter-finals are on 12 August, the semis on 16 August and the gold medal match will be on 19 August at 22:30.

The men kick off their tournament with a meeting against hosts Brazil at 12:00 on 4 August followed by a match against Denmark at 00:00 on 8 August and then play Iraq on 10 August at 22:00. The quarter-finals are on 13 August, the semi-finals are on 17 August and the gold medal match will be played on 20 August at 22:30.

Rugby:

Despite qualifying for the Olympics through the continental route, South Africa’s women’s Sevens team will not be at the Games. The men are, though, and begin with a match against Spain on 9 August at 16:30 before playing France on the same day at 21:30. They take on Australia the next day at 16:30. The men's quater-finals will be on 10 August, beginning at 21:00. The semifinals are on 11 August, starting at 17:30 and the gold medal is up for grabs on 11 August, starting with the 7th and 8th place play off at 22:30. The gold medal match will begin around 00:30. DM

Photo: Wayde Van Niekerk (C) of South Africa wins the men’s 400m final during the Beijing 2015 IAAF World Championships at the National Stadium, also known as Bird’s Nest, in Beijing, China, 26 August 2015. EPA/SRDJAN SUKI