SA’s most memorable sporting moments of 2024: 12 of the best

There were highs and lows and 2024 delivered many memorable moments all over the world for South Africa’s top athletes.

The Citizen’s sports team looks back at some of the best moments that brought joy and happiness, and also a few tears.

Football

Bafana Bafana win bronze at Africa Cup of Nations

Bafana Bafana ushered in the new year with a memorable run at the Africa Cup of Nations which took place between January and February. They exceeded all expectations by reaching the semi-finals of the biennial tournament that was held in Côte d’Ivoire.

It was the first time the ’96 champions had reached the last four of the competition in 24 years. By defeating DR Congo in the third-place play-off match to win a bronze medal, they significantly re-established South Africa’s status as a football powerhouse on the African continent.

Ronwen Williams wins big in 2024

In 2024, you’d be hard-pressed to find an African-based goalkeeper who had a better year than Ronwen Williams. The Bafana Bafana captain and Mamelodi Sundowns shot-stopper claimed nearly every individual accolade on offer. Following his heroics that propelled Bafana to a bronze medal finish at the Africa Cup of Nations earlier this year, Williams scooped a total of five notable awards.

The 32-year-old’s inspired performance in the quarter-final victory over Cape Verde turned him into a household name. On that occasion, he saved four spot kicks in the 2-1 penalty shootout victory, earning him the Goalkeeper of the Tournament prize.

Williams also added the African Men’s Goalkeeper of the Year award to his collection while he also won the Interclub Player of the Year award, among many other wins and nominations.

Magesi FC’s triumphant fairy tale run in the Carling Knockout

The 2024 Carling Knockout final will live long in the memories of South African football followers.
No one gave Betway Premiership newcomers Magesi FC a chance to cause an upset against the star-studded Mamelodi Sundowns team but not only did the so-called minnows deliver a stunning upset, they also came from a goal down to win the match 2-1.

Former Sundowns coach Manqoba Mngqithi ultimately paid the biggest price for the unexpected defeat by being sacked a few days later. Magesi’s story is the stuff dreams are made of, and their fairy tale run will serve as an example of hope and sheer determination for years to come.

Rugby

Pieter-Steph du Toit and Co best in the game

It was a brilliant year for the Springboks and that was recognised at the World Rugby awards when they dominated World Rugby’s Player of the Year nominations. Pieter-Steph du Toit, Cheslin Kolbe and Eben Etzebeth were nominated, along with Ireland’s Caelan Doris, although many local pundits and fans thought Ox Nche should also have gotten the nod and may have missed out so it wasn’t a Springbok shutout.

Du Toit went on to be crowned Player of the Year for the second time, after he picked up the award in 2019, in the process becoming just the fourth player to win it multiple times, after New Zealanders Dan Carter (3), Richie McCaw (3) and Beauden Barrett (2). Etzebeth and Kolbe could easily have picked up the award themselves.

Springboks cruise to Rugby Championship title

The Springboks enjoyed arguably their best Rugby Championship campaign as they powered to the title in style. It was the Boks’ fifth title in the Southern Hemisphere’s premier international competition, after they won the previous iteration, the Tri Nations, three times, while they have now won the Rugby Championship twice.

They did go through the 1998 Tri Nations unbeaten, while impressively beating the All Blacks three times on their way to the 2009 title. Their 2019 Rugby Championship win was also unbeaten, with two wins and a draw, but it was a shortened version due to it being a World Cup year. Thus their 2024 triumph was arguably their best as they won five out of six games, rotated their squad extensively and only lost by a single point with a weakened team in Argentina.

Boks dominate the North to close out season

The Boks put the cherry on top of their cake by closing out their impressive 2024 campaign with a clean sweep over Northern Hemisphere opposition on their end of year tour. The Boks beat Scotland 32-15 in Edinburgh, England 29-20 in London and Wales 45-12 in Cardiff to finish a superb year, where they won 11 out of 13 games, with both losses by just a single point.

The most impressive part of their Northern Hemisphere sweep was that they weren’t at their best in any of their games, and continuously rotated their squad, as they have all season, which saw the 50th different player to represent the Boks over the year during the tour. Their wins over Scotland and England on their home turf also showed just how far the Boks have come, being able to win away in tough conditions while not at their best.

Cricket

Proteas men and women reach T20 finals

Under Aiden Markram, the men’s team surprised friend and foe by reaching the T20 World Cup final, held in the USA and Caribbean earlier in the year. After restricting India to 176/7 in their 20 overs, the Proteas looked to be well on their way to winning a first major global title, but they ended up losing by just seven runs. It was a bitter spill to swallow after a memorable run to the final.

The women’s team under Laura Wolvaardt also qualified for the T20 World Cup final, for the second time in a row, but they, too, came unstuck, against New Zealand. But, they also brought plenty of joy to the country.

Proteas qualify for World Test Championship

The Proteas Test team have been something of a revelation under the coaching of Shukri Conrad. After sending a weakened team to New Zealand at the start of the year to ensure the country’s best players featured in the SA20, they registered six wins for their next seven Tests, with a draw in between.

They’ve won series’ or drawn to West Indies, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan. It is a stunning accomplishment for Conrad and his charges, who have been pushed aside by the game’s so-called big three of India, England and Australia. Having finished top of the point log over the last cycle, in June next year the Proteas will play in the World Test Championship final.

Sunrisers rule the roost again

The Sunrisers Eastern Cape proved that it wasn’t a first season fluke as they triumphed in the SA20 once again, to clinch the biggest local T20 trophy on South African soil.

The Sunrisers did it the hard way in the inaugural edition, edging into the knockouts on net run rate after finishing level on points with the Paarl Royals and Durban’s Super Giants (DSG), before going on to triumph over the Pretoria Capitals in the final. In season two they however proved their dominance, finishing top of the table before thumping DSG twice in the knockouts to lift a second title.

Olympics and more

Olympic stars shine

Tatjana Smith brought tears of joy to the nation after her stunning performances in the pool at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, winning a gold and silver medal in the 100m and 20m breaststroke events respectively.

Bayanda Walaza, Shaun Maswanganyi, Bradley Nkoana, and Akani Simbine also had sports fans jumping for joy when they bagged silver in the men’s 4x100m relay final.

Jo-Ane van Dyk surprised all by winning silver in the javelin, while Alan Hatherly won bronze in the men’s cross country biking event, while the men’s Sevens rugby team shocked their greatest critics by winning bronze as well.

Dricus du Plessis is king of fighting world

2024 was a year mixed martial artist Dricus du Plessis and his ever-growing fanbase will never forget. He kicked it off by winning the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight title at the beginning of the year by beating American Sean Strickland in an extremely close split-decision result in Canada.

Since then, he defended his title against former champion Israel Adesanya in Perth, climbing the UFC men’s pound-for-pound rankings to sixth in the world. South Africa’s ‘one-man Springbok team’ will defend his title against Strickland in Sydney on 9 February. However, Du Plessis made it clear he would have preferred to fight undefeated Russian Khamzat Chimaev.

Gerda Steyn does the double

This year, long-distance superstar Gerda Steyn won her fifth consecutive Two Oceans Marathon with a new course record. She also won her third Comrades Marathon title, breaking her own up-run record by more than nine minutes with a brilliant time of 5:49:46.

She ran for South Africa at the Paris 2024 Olympics, becoming a double Olympian. She finished the year on a low note with a 19th place finish at the Valencia Marathon with a time of 2:28:14, more than four minutes slower than her personal best. For this, she cited stomach cramps from the halfway mark.