According to them, our only hopes are Caster Semenya for a silver rather than gold in the 800m, and Cameron van der Burgh for a bronze in the 100m breaststroke.

But what do they know? 

Our politicians and sports administrators may have been overly optimistic with their predictions of a dozen but our high-spirited squad is bound to bring home more than two medals.

The preparation has been more thorough than that which harvested a solitary silver in Beijing four years ago.

Despite the unpleasantness over the  equestrian selection, which saw the Court for Arbitration in Sport overrule Sascoc, the mood in the SA camp is reported to be very positive.

That counts for a lot.

After watching last night’s opening ceremony, and in fact all through the Games, South Africans can feel proud that we have so many athletes competing.

Just to be there is a huge achievement.

To make a final  is to join the super-elite. We back our team all the way.

May their dreams come true.