Blast from the past: Marathon man Thugwane makes history in Atlanta

Today in SA sports history: August 4

1956 — The Springboks beat the All Blacks 8-3 in the second Test in Wellington to draw level in the four-match series at 1-1. Forwards Salty du Rand and Daan Retief scored tries, with fullback Basie Vivier adding a conversion.

1962 — The Springboks take an unassailable 2-0 series lead when they beat the British and Irish Lions 8-3 in the third Test at Newlands in Cape Town. Flyhalf Keith Oxlee scored all the points, dotting down for a try which he  converted, and landing a penalty.

1996 — Josia Thugwane becomes SA’s first black Olympic champion, when he wins the marathon on the final day of the Atlanta Games. Thugwane was part of a strong SA contingent also featuring the more famous duo of Lawrence Peu and Gert Thys, but it was Thugwane who was the strongest on the day, winning in 2hr 12 min 36 sec, three seconds in front of Korean Lee Bong-Ju.

1997 — Llewellyn Herbert wins SA’s first-ever world championship medal in athletics, taking silver in the 400m hurdles in 47.86 sec in Athens behind Frenchman Stephane Diagana (47.70).

2013 — David Miller scores 36 from 21 balls as the Proteas score 145/6 to beat Sri Lanka by 22 runs in the second T20 in Hambantota and take an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.

2015 — Cameron van der Burgh equals the 50m breaststroke world record in the morning heats at the world championships in Kazan, clocking 26.62 sec to share the mark with Briton Adam Peaty. But it was short-lived, with Peaty lowering it to 26.42 that evening in the semifinals. That was the last time Van der Burgh held a long-course world record in an Olympic-sized 50-metre pool.

2019 — Bafana Bafana are beaten 0-3 by Lesotho in the return leg of their Chan qualifier at Dobsonville Stadium in Soweto. SA were eliminated 2-6 on aggregate.