South Africa at the 1908 Summer Olympics

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]

South Africa at the 1908 Summer Olympics
The Union Flag flew over South Africa before 1910
IOC code	RSA (ZAF used at these Games)
NOC	South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee
in London
Competitors	14
Flag bearer	Doug Stupart[1]
Medals Ranked 14th	Gold 1 Silver 1 Bronze 0 Total 2
Summer Olympics appearances (overview)
1904 1908 1912 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964–1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024

Hurdler Doug Stupart carried the flag at the opening ceremony.

Medalists

Further information: 1908 Summer Olympics medal table and List of 1908 Summer Olympics medal winners

Medal	Name	Sport	Event	Date
Gold	Reggie Walker	Athletics	Men's 100 m	July 22
Silver	Charles Hefferon	Athletics	Men's marathon	July 24

Results by event

Athletics

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
Men's 100 metres	1st	Reggie Walker	11.0 seconds 1st, heat 4	10.8 seconds (OR) 1st, semifinal 1	10.8 seconds (=OR)
	Semi- finalist	Edward Duffy	11.6 seconds 1st, heat 1	Unknown 3rd, semifinal 3	Did not advance
	—	Herbert Phillips	Did not finish —, heat 11	Did not advance
Men's 200 metres	Heats	Edward Duffy	Unknown 2nd, heat 2	Did not advance
Men's 110 metre hurdles	Heats	Douglas Stupart	Unknown 3rd, heat 1	Did not advance
Men's 5 miles	4th	Charles Hefferon	None held	Unknown 2nd, semifinal 1	25:44.0
Men's marathon	2nd	Charles Hefferon	None held		2:56:06.0
	—	J. N. Mitchell-Baker			Did not finish
		A. B. Mole			Did not start
		C. E. Stevens			Did not start
		Vincent			Did not start

Event	Place	Athlete	Distance
Men's triple jump	10th	Douglas Stupart	13.40 metres

Cycling

Main article: Cycling at the 1908 Summer Olympics

Event	Place	Cyclist	Heats	Semifinals	Final
Men's 660 yards	Semi- finalist	Floris Venter	1:03.2 1st, heat 10	Unknown 4th, semifinal 2	Did not advance
	Heats	T. H. E. Passmore	Unknown 2nd, heat 9	Did not advance
		Philipus Frylink	Unknown 3rd, heat 16
	—	Frank Shore	Time limit exceeded —, heat 5
Men's 5000 metres	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
Men's 20 kilometres	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
Men's 100 kilometres	—	T. H. E. Passmore	None held	Did not finish —, semifinal 2	Did not advance
Men's sprint	Semi- finalist	Floris Venter	1:33.2 1st, heat 2	Unknown 3rd, semifinal 1	Did not advance
	Heats	Philipus Frylink	Unknown 2nd, heat 8	Did not advance
	—	Frank Shore	Time limit exceeded —, heat 16
Men's tandem	Heats	Philipus Frylink Floris Venter	Unknown 2nd, heat 5	Did not finish

Fencing

Main article: Fencing at the 1908 Summer Olympics

Event	Place	Fencer	First round	Second round	Semi- final	Final
Men's épée	First round	Walter Gates	3-5 (6th in B)	Did not advance
Men's sabre	First round	Walter Gates	0-5 (6th in H)	Did not advance

Tennis

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
Men's singles	4th	John Richardson	Bye	Bye	Defeated Foulkes	Defeated Brown	Lost to Froitzheim	Did not advance
	16th	Vincent Gauntlett	Bye	Lost to Ritchie	Did not advance
		Harold Kitson	Bye	Lost to Caridia
Men's doubles	4th	Vincent Gauntlett Harold Kitson	None held	Bye	Defeated Hykš/Slíva	Defeated Froitzheim/Schomburgk	Lost to Cazalet/Dixon	Did not advance

Opponent nation	Wins	Losses	Percent
Bohemia	1	0	1.000
Canada	2	0	1.000
Germany	1	1	.500
Great Britain	0	3	.000
Total	4	4	.500