Sports News 12.30

BULLETIN SPORTS NEWS 30 July 12:30 pm

Good day, let’s look at the latest sports news and scores:

# We focus almost entirely on the Olympic Games: Swimming star Tatjana Smith has won South Africa’s first gold medal in Paris. She claimed victory in the women’s 100 metres breaststroke, followed by China’s QT Tang, who won silver, and Ireland’s Mona McSharry who took the bronze. Meanwhile, Alan Hatherly claimed bronze in the men’s mountain biking, becoming the first South African to win a medal in the sport since returning from international isolation at the 1992 Games. Smith says she swam for everyone who believed in her:

President Cyril Ramaphosa has congratulated Smith and Hatherly and says he is looking forward to more spectacular performances from Team SA. Smith says she learnt a lot from the previous Games in Tokyo, where she won silver in the same event:

The South African men’s sevens rugby team is set to arrive at Cape Town International Airport from Paris this afternoon. The team, coached by Philip Snyman and captained by Selvyn Davids, secured bronze by defeating Australia 26-19 in the third-place playoff. Despite a challenging season and last-minute Olympic qualification, Snyman credits the victory to the players’ dedication.

The men’s individual triathlon has been postponed due to the polluted River Seine in Paris. World Triathlon says water-quality tests carried out early this morning showed that the river running through the French capital was unsafe for swimming. It adds that despite the improvement of water quality levels over the last hours, the readings at some points of the swimming course are still above the acceptable limits. The race, which was originally slated to take place today, will now be held after the individual women’s race tomorrow.

The American figure-skating team from the Winter Games in Beijing in 2022 will finally get their gold medal next week. This follows after Russian teenager Kamila Valieva was found guilty of doping earlier during the 2022 season and banned for four years. Her points were deducted, leading to Russia being demoted to the bronze medal, with Japan winning silver. The International Olympic Committee says although one can never replace the moment of winning a gold medal, the athletes felt Paris was as good a place as any.

# And, motorsport: Outgoing Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz will join Williams next season after signing a two-year deal with the Formula One team. The Spaniard, who will partner Alex Albon at Williams, will be replaced by seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari. Williams’ boss James Vowles has described the signing of Sainz as a strong statement of intent. Sainz says he is confident that Williams is the right place for him to continue his F1 journey: