The Union of South Africa competed at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden. 21 competitors, all men, took part in 21 events in 6 sports.
Medalists Gold Ken McArthur — Athletics, Men's Marathon Rudolph Lewis — Cycling, Men's Individual Time Trial Harold Kitson and Charles Winslow — Tennis, Men's doubles outdoor Charles Winslow — Tennis, Men's singles outdoor
Silver Christian Gitsham — Athletics, Men's Marathon Harold Kitson — Tennis Men's singles outdoor
Aquatics
Swimming
A single swimmer competed for South Africa at the 1912 Games. It was the nation's debut in swimming. Godfrey competed in one event, placing fifth in his quarterfinal of the 400 metre freestyle and not advancing to the semifinals.
Ranks given for each swimmer are within the heat.
Men
SwimmerEventsHeatQuarterfinalSemifinalFinalResultRankResultRankResultRankResultRank George Godfrey400 m freestyle N/A 6:30.6 4 did not advance
Athletics
Seven athletes represented South Africa. It was the nation's third appearance in both the sport and the Olympics. McArthur and Gitsham finished first and second, respectively, in the marathon to give South Africa its only athletics medals in 1912 as well as an Olympic record in the event with McArthur's mark. Richardson's Olympic record in the 10000 metres, set in the semifinals, was broken in the final; Richardson did not finish that race.
Ranks given are within that athlete's heat for running events.
AthleteEventsHeatSemifinalFinalResultRankResultRankResultRank Christian GitshamMarathon N/A 2:37:52.0 Ken McArthurMarathon N/A 2:36:54.8 George Patching100 m ? 2 Q 19.9 1 Q 11.0 4200 m 22.3 1 Q did not finish did not advance400 m 51.1 1 Q 50.5 3 did not advance Reuben Povey100 m ? 2 Q ? 2 did not advance200 m ? 2 Q ? 5 did not advance Leonard Richardson10000 m N/A 32:30.3 1 did not finishMarathon N/A did not startInd. cross country N/A 47:33.5 8 Arthur St. NormanMarathon N/A did not finish10 km walk N/A 50:17.9 2 Q Disqualified John Victor800 m ? 3 did not advance1500 m N/A 4:12.7 3 did not advance
Cycling
A single cyclist represented South Africa. It was the second appearance of the nation in cycling. Rudolph Lewis won the gold medal, South Africa's first cycling medal.
Road cycling
CyclistEventsFinalResultRank Rudolph LewisInd. time trial 10:42:39.0
Fencing
A single fencer represented South Africa. It was the second appearance of the nation in fencing. Walter Gate, who had also been South Africa's only fencer in 1908, competed in all three weapons and was defeated in the first round of each competition.
FencerEventRound 1QuarterfinalSemifinalFinalRecordRankRecordRankRecordRankRecordRank Walter GatesFoil 4 losses 5 did not advanceÉpée 5 losses 7 did not advanceSabre 1 win 4 did not advance
Shooting
Eight shooters represented South Africa. It was the nation's first appearance in shooting. The South African team took fourth place in the team rifle competition; this was the closest the nation got to winning a medal in shooting. The best individual performance was Harvey's tenth place finish in the military rifle.
ShooterEventFinal Result Rank Robert Bodley300 m free rifle, 3 pos. 806 55600 m free rifle 73 54300 m military rifle, 3 pos. 78 45 Charles Jeffreys300 m free rifle, 3 pos. 715 70600 m free rifle 76 42300 m military rifle, 3 pos. 82 34 Albert Johnstone300 m free rifle, 3 pos. 741 67600 m free rifle 75 43300 m military rifle, 3 pos. 62 77 George Harvey300 m free rifle, 3 pos. 874 40600 m free rifle 83 21300 m military rifle, 3 pos. 90 10 Ernest Keeley300 m free rifle, 3 pos. 800 56300 m military rifle, 3 pos. 89 13 Robert Patterson300 m free rifle, 3 pos. 810 51600 m free rifle 73 53300 m military rifle, 3 pos. 72 59 Arthur Smith300 m free rifle, 3 pos. 752 64300 m military rifle, 3 pos. 56 84 George Whelan300 m free rifle, 3 pos. 762 61300 m military rifle, 3 pos. 64 73 Robert Bodley George Harvey Charles Jeffreys Ernest Keeley Arthur Smith Robert PattersonTeam rifle 1531 4 Robert Bodley George Harvey Ernest Keeley Arthur Smith Robert Patterson George WhelanTeam free rifle 4897 6
Tennis
Three tennis players represented South Africa at the 1912 Games. It was the nation's second appearance in tennis.
Kitson and Winslow dominated the men's outdoor competitions. They met in the final of the singles tournament, with Winslow taking the championship and Kitson winning silver. The two also paired up for the doubles tournament, defeating all their opponents to add a third medal. Tapscott, competing in the singles only, advanced to the round of 16 before losing to an eventual semifinalist.
Men
AthleteEventRound of 128Round of 64Round of 32Round of 16QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinalOppositionScoreOppositionScoreOppositionScoreOppositionScoreOppositionScoreOppositionScoreOppositionScoreRank Harold Kitson Outdoor singles Bye W 6-2, 6-1, 6-0 W 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 W 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 W 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 W 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 L 7-5, 4-6, 10-8, 8-6 Lionel Tapscott Outdoor singles W 6-4, 6-1, 6-2 W 3-6, 7-5, 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 W 1-6, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 L 6-1, 6-4, 2-6, 4-6, 2-6 did not advance 9 Charles Winslow Outdoor singles Bye W 7-5, 6-2, 6-3 W 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 W 6-4, 8-6, 6-4 W 6-2, 6-4, 8-10, 4-6, 6-3 W 9-7, 7-5, 6-2 W 7-5, 4-6, 10-8, 8-6 Harold Kitson Charles Winslow Outdoor doubles N/A W 6-4, 6-1, 6-4 W 6-3, 6-3, 7-9, 6-2 W 6-3, 7-5, 6-1 W 4-6, 6-1, 7-5, 6-4 W 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2
References
External links Official Olympic Reports International Olympic Committee results database