Blast from the past: Mokoena leaps to SA’s sole medal in Beijing

Today in SA sports history: August 18

1928 — The Springboks score three tries to two as they beat New Zealand 11-6 in the third Test at Crusader’s in Port Elizabeth to lead the four-match series 2-1.

1951 — SA cricketers, needing to win the final fifth Test at The Oval to tie the series, fail to defend 162 as England win by four wickets and take the series 3-1. Opener Eric Rowan’s 55 in the first innings was SA’s only half-century in the match.

1956 — The Springboks go down 10-17 to the All Blacks in the third Test in Christchurch to trail 1-2 in the four-match series. The home side scores three tries to two, and their star fullback Don Clarke slotted one conversion and two penalties. Flank Butch Lochner and centre Wilf Rosenberg scored SA’s tries.

1998 — Pat Symcox scores 51 from 39 balls and then takes 2/31 as SA beat England by 14 runs in an ODI in Birmingham. Daryll Cullinan was the top-scoring batsman for the visitors, making 70 from 73 balls in their total of 244/7. The win, however, wasn’t enough to get SA into the final of the triangular, where Sri Lanka beat England.

2000 — Andrew Hall bowls a great final over as SA and Australia play to a tie in their second ODI in Melbourne. Defending a total of 226/8, SA seemed out of it as the hosts strolled to 146/2. And that’s when their bowlers struck, taking turns dismissing the Australian batsmen, until Hall bowled the final deliveries of the match. Shane Warne hit two runs off the penultimate ball and then scored a single to get the tie, SA’s second.

2001 — Lock Mark Andrews scores a try as the Springboks play to a 14-14 Tri-Nations draw against Australia in Perth.

2002 — Allan Donald takes four wickets as the Proteas beat Pakistan by eight runs in Tangier to secure their spot in the final of a triangular tournament also featuring Sri Lanka. Mark Boucher scored 57 and Boeta Dippenaar 55 to help SA to 196/8. Donald took the key scalp of Shahid Afridi, who had made 62 off 40 deliveries.

2003 — Mark Boucher scores 52 as the Proteas are bowled out for 131 in Nottingham to lose the third Test against England by 70 runs. The day before Shaun Pollock had taken 6/39 as England were dismissed for 118, but their first-innings dominance left SA with a target of 202. The win allowed the home side to level the series at 1-1.

2004 — Roland Schoeman picks up his second Olympic medal of the Athens Games as he finishes second in the men’s 100m freestyle behind world record-holder and defending champion Pieter van den Hoogenband of the Netherlands. Schoeman had led for most of the race, but was overhauled on the final quarter. Countryman Ryk Neethling had been in medal contention as well, but he was pipped at the wall by Australian Ian Thorpe by seven hundredths of a second.

2008 — Khotso Mokoena wins SA’s only medal of the Beijing Games, taking silver in the long jump. He had been lying fourth when he leapt to 8.24m in the fourth round of competition to end second behind Irving Saladino of Panama on 8.34m.

2012 — The Springboks score three tries as they beat Argentina 27-6 in a Rugby Championship match at Newlands. Fullback Zane Kirchner, flank Marcell Coetzee and wing Bryan Habana dotted down.

2013 — Johan Cronje wins SA’s only medal of the world championships in Moscow, taking the 1,500m bronze on the final day of the showpiece. He produced a strong final lap before storming into third place in a sprint finish, clocking 3 min 36.83 sec behind Kenyan Asbel Kiprop (3:36.28) and American Matthew Centrowitz (3:36.78).

2016 — Unheralded Henri Schoeman claims SA’s first-ever Olympic triathlon medal as he took bronze behind the English Brownlee brothers, Alistair and Jonathan. Compatriot Richard Murray ended fourth seven seconds behind. That night Sunette Viljoen buried the ghost of her fourth place in London four years earlier, winning the javelin silver behind Croatian Sara Kolak. She also had the satisfaction of beating long-time rival Barbora Spotakova of Czech Republic, the bronze medallist.

2018 — Wings Aphiwe Dyantyi and Makazole Mapimpi scores two tries each as the Springboks beat Argentina 34-21 in a Rugby Championship match in Durban. Centre Lukhanyo Am and scrumhalf Faf de Klerk also got on the scoresheet, with flyhalf Handré Pollard landing two conversions.