The South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) has set a target of 43 medals for Team SA at this year’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland.
Gideon Sam, who is the president of the organisation, has urged the local athletes to compete for a top five spot on the medals table and get closer to the powerhouses.
“We are not on the same level with Australia yet, one down, we are not at the level of Canada, two down, we battle with England, three down, therefore, we will be contesting for the fourth spot with India and the home team, Scotland,” he said.
“In terms of our projection, we are saying if we put on the table 15 gold medals, 12 silver medals and 16 bronze and that will take us to 43 medals, that’s what we are going for now.”
Team SA won 33 medals and achieved fifth spot on the medals table at the previous Commonwealth Games in New Delhi with 12 gold, 11 silver and 10 bronze medals.
“The majority of the team are within the top five rankings of the Commonwealth and that is very reassuring for us,” Sam added.
“Glasgow is going to be tough but also great fun, our athletes will gain tremendously from these Games and, judging by the teams already announced by both Australia and Canada, it is not going to be a walk in the park for any country.”
Team SA will be involved in a number of sporting codes at the games namely, aquatics (including para-swimming), athletics (including para-athletics), badminton, boxing, cycling, gymnastics, hockey, judo, lawn bowls, netball, para-powerlifting, rugby sevens, shooting, triathlon, weightlifting and wrestling.
Former 800m world champion Caster Semenya failed to make the cut, while Springbok star Bryan Habana will be part of the Springbok Rugby Sevens squad.
Big names have been included in the swimming squad with Roland Schoeman, Cameron van der Burgh and Chad le Clos all on the list.
The incentive for Team SA squad member is R40 000 for a gold medal, R20 000 for a silver medal and bronze is R7 500. With regards to coaching staff, he said, a gold medal was worth R10 000, silver R5 000 and bronze R2 500.
The 2014 Commonwealth Games will be held in Glasgow, North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire and Angus, Scotland, United Kingdom over 11 days from 23 July to 3 August.
