Medals prove elusive on Team SA’s ‘Big Wednesday washout’

Reality hit Team SA hard and painfully in Tokyo on Wednesday with no medals coming in on what had once promised to be the most profitable day of the Games.

London 2012 champion Chad Le Clos ended fifth in the men’s 200m butterfly, and cyclist Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio placed eighth in the women’s individual time trial.

This was supposed to be South Africa’s Big Wednesday. A month out, one could count an unprecedented five medal shots for the country, which had never won more than two on a single day.

That had happened at Barcelona 1992, Rio 2016 and again in Tokyo on Tuesday, courtesy of swimmer Tatjana Schoenmaker in the 100m breaststroke and surfer Bianca Buitendag, whose final had been scheduled for Wednesday, but was brought forward by a day because of an approaching typhoon.

Jordy Smith had been touted as South Africa surfing’s podium hope until he withdrew injured.

The men’s four rowers were supposed to be racing for glory on Wednesday, but instead ended last in the consolation B-final, crossing in 6min 09.85sec, 12.68sec behind winners Poland. Canada were second and Switzerland third.

Just two months ago Lawrence Brittain, Kyle Schoonbee, John Smith and Sandro Torrente beat all three of those crews In Lucerne. Back in May they even got the better of Romania and Italy, who took the silver and bronze medals behind Australia on Wednesday.

The rowers were a disappointment, as were the Blitzboks, the Rio 2016 bronze medallists, who were set to play the US for the honour of finishing fifth later on Wednesday. Earlier they beat Australia 22-19.

Le Clos, South Africa's most decorated Olympian with four medals, tried hard to win a 200m butterfly medal on Wednesday morning, going out fast early on. He was third turning into the final lap, but he tired before clocking 1min 54.93sec, half-a-second off the podium.

Hungarian Kristof Milak won in an Olympic record 1:51.25, followed by Japan’s Tomoru Honda (1:53.73) and Federico Burdisso of Italy (1:54.45).

Le Clos, whose bid to become the first South African to win medals from three Games will now rest solely on the 100m butterfly, ended a painful fourth in this event at Rio 2016.

The time he clocked five years ago, 1:54.06, would have been good enough for bronze in Tokyo. Even the 1:54.15 he registered for bronze at the 2019 world championships would have got him to the podium.

Moolman-Pasio also gave it her all over the 22.1km course, crossing the line in 32min 37.60sec, 2:24.11 behind Dutch winner Annemiek van Vleuten and 1:22.48 behind Dutch bronze medallist Anna van der Breggen.

It was a staunch effort by the 35-year-old South African, who ended 13th in Sunday’s 137km road race, 17 seconds off the podium.

At least she and Le Clos, 29, showed why they were medal contenders; they were never favourites in these events, both having outside chances to make the podium.

Surfer Smith didn’t get a chance, although had he been competing for a medal in Tokyo, he too would have competed on what became Terrific Tuesday.

The fifth day of the Olympics turned out to be SA’s big Wednesday washout, largely because of under-performances by the rowers and rugby players.

By early Wednesday afternoon, Team SA had fired off eight of their 13 medal shots, with one hitting the target — Schoenmaker’s silver. Buitendag’s triumph was not part of the pre-Games count.

Schoenmaker was scheduled to launch her second medal campaign later on Wednesday in the heats of the 200m breaststroke, where she is seeded first.

After the swimming ends Team SA will rely on track and field. A total of five medals are still on.