Your guide to South Africans at the Olympics on 7 August 2016

Day one was full of mixed results for Team South Africa. The men's rowing pairs qualified for the semifinals and Louis Meinjtes put in an epic effort in the men's road race, finishing seventh overall. If you missed any of the action, you can catch up with our blow-by-blow account. Here's a quick recap of Saturday's action:

• Patterson became the first South African male artistic gymnast to participate in the Olympics since 1956. 


• The men's rowing pair Keeling and Brittain qualified for the semifinals.


• Louis Meintjes tried and tried, but had to settle for seventh in the men's cycling road race.


• Cameron van der Burgh qualified for the semis of the 100m breaststroke while rival Adam Peaty broke the world record.


• The other swimmers flopped a bit, but weren't realistically expected to make it out of their heats. Myles Brown did set a national record, though.

And here's what to come on Sunday. We'll be running a live blog on the action throughout the day. You can follow it here.

Rowing

15:20: Women’s Pair (Heats): Lee-Ann Persse and Kate Christowitz

16:00: Lightweight Women’s Sculls (Heats): Kirsten McCann and Ursula Grobler
16:50: Lightweight Men’s Double Sculls (Heats): James Thompson and John Smith
17:20: Men’s Four (Heats): David Hunt, Jonathan Smith, Vincent Breet and Jake Green

What to expect: James Thompson and John Smith might be the ones to keep an eye on and with all the rowers in fine form, this could be the pick of the South African challenge in Rio. They are strong medal candidates, although Sunday will be to qualify them for the semi-finals.

Cycling

17:05: Women’s Road Race: Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio and An-Li Kachelhoffer.

What to expect: Anna Van Den Bregen is the 4-1 favourite to win the gold medal, followed by Elizabeth Armistead at 9-2, Megan Guarnier at 5-1 and Marianne Vos at 6-1. However, as the men’s race on Saturday showed, it’s something of a lottery. Moolman-Pasio is 50-1 but she has more of a chance than those odds suggest and she is the pick of the South African duo.

Soccer

00:00: Men’s Group A: South Africa vs Denmark

What to expect: After their 0-0 draw with favourites Brazil, the SA Under-23s will fancy their chances against Denmark. All four teams have one point after their opening match and should South Africa win, or even draw, they will take on Iraq in their final group match full of expectation to qualify for the knockout stages.

Swimming

18:39:  Men’s 200m Freestyle (Heat 5): Chad le Clos and Myles Brown
19:25: Men’s 100m Backstroke (Heat 4): Christopher Reid
03:11 - 03:20 (Monday):  Men’s 200m Freestyle, semi-finals: Potentially Chad le Clos and Myles Brown
03:53 (Monday): Men’s 100m breaststroke final: Cameron van der Burgh
4.12 - 4.20 (Monday): Potentially Christopher Reid

What to expect: Myles Brown went out like an express train on his way to breaking his own national record in the 400m freestyle yesterday. However, watch out for Chad le Clos in this freestyle event. He is more than a butterfly exponent and South Africa can be looking forward to him in this 200. At 28-1 to win gold, there are some shrewdies who might fancy putting a few rands on him. DM

Photo: Chad Le Clos of South Africa on his way winning the men's 100m Butterfly Final during the FINA Swimming World Championships at Kazan arena in Kazan, Russia, 08 August 2015. EPA/PATRICK B. KRAEMER