No boycott, says Sascoc, as SA prepares for Winter Olympics

South Africa will not join a boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, it was confirmed on Tuesday.

Various countries recently announced that they would join a diplomatic boycott of next year’s showpiece in Beijing – including the United States, Australia and Great Britain – due to alleged human rights violations in China.

The SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc), however, said it was focussed on preparing a team for the quadrennial Games.

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“Sascoc fully supports the position adopted by the International Olympic Committee that Olympic Games and the participation of the athletes are beyond politics,” the national body said in a statement.

While the country has never won a medal, South Africa has sent small teams – consisting of between one and three athletes – to six of the last seven editions of the Winter Olympics.

Alpine skier Connor Wilson was the only South African who competed at the last edition of the Games in Pyeongchang in 2018.

“Delivering Team South Africa to the Olympics remains our core mandate as an NOC,” said Sascoc president Barry Hendricks.

“Hence we are focusing on qualifying our athletes for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.”

The 2022 Winter Olympics will be held in Beijing between 4-20 February.