President Cyril Ramaphosa will preside over a prestigious ceremony at the Union Buildings on Friday, where the country’s top athletes and coaches will be honoured with South Africa’s most esteemed sporting award, the Shield of Jove.
This distinguished accolade is reserved for athletes who have demonstrated extraordinary achievements in the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and it will be presented to the nation’s medallists from Paris 2024.
The Shield of Jove, a symbol of South African sporting excellence, was first donated in 1948 by British archaeologist and mining magnate Frederick Mitchell-Hedges to honour the performances of South Africans at the Olympic Games.
The shield was valued at R40,000 at the time. Today it has an estimated value of R500,000 and is highly prized both for its considerable monetary worth and its unique craftsmanship.
George Hunter was the first athlete to receive the Shield of Jove after winning a gold medal in boxing at the London 1948 Olympics.
Since then, the shield has been awarded to many legendary South African athletes, including double Olympic swimming medallist Tatjana Smith (née Schoenmaker) with fellow Tokyo 2020 Team SA members Bianca Buitendag and Ntando Mahlangu. Chad le Clos was also awarded the shield for swimming in 2012.
A total of 12 medals were achieved for the respective games, six each for the Olympics (one gold, three silver and two bronze) and Paralympics (two gold and four bronze).
South Africa sent 147 athletes to the Paris Olympics, held from July 26 to August 11, and 32 to the Paralympic Games from August 28 to September 8.
TimesLIVE
Ramaphosa to award Shield of Jove to Paris Olympic and Paralympic stars
Symbol of South African sporting excellence has estimated value of R500,000
Image: SANDILE NDLOVU
President Cyril Ramaphosa will preside over a prestigious ceremony at the Union Buildings on Friday, where the country’s top athletes and coaches will be honoured with South Africa’s most esteemed sporting award, the Shield of Jove.
This distinguished accolade is reserved for athletes who have demonstrated extraordinary achievements in the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and it will be presented to the nation’s medallists from Paris 2024.
The Shield of Jove, a symbol of South African sporting excellence, was first donated in 1948 by British archaeologist and mining magnate Frederick Mitchell-Hedges to honour the performances of South Africans at the Olympic Games.
The shield was valued at R40,000 at the time. Today it has an estimated value of R500,000 and is highly prized both for its considerable monetary worth and its unique craftsmanship.
George Hunter was the first athlete to receive the Shield of Jove after winning a gold medal in boxing at the London 1948 Olympics.
Since then, the shield has been awarded to many legendary South African athletes, including double Olympic swimming medallist Tatjana Smith (née Schoenmaker) with fellow Tokyo 2020 Team SA members Bianca Buitendag and Ntando Mahlangu. Chad le Clos was also awarded the shield for swimming in 2012.
A total of 12 medals were achieved for the respective games, six each for the Olympics (one gold, three silver and two bronze) and Paralympics (two gold and four bronze).
South Africa sent 147 athletes to the Paris Olympics, held from July 26 to August 11, and 32 to the Paralympic Games from August 28 to September 8.
TimesLIVE
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