It has been an incredible sporting year for South Africans across the globe. We chose 10 of the best performers and teams for 2023 ...
Honourable mention: Tatjana Schoenmaker
The 26-year-old continued to be the darling of South Africa in the swimming pool, winning gold and silver earlier this year in the 200m and 100m breaststroke, respectively, at the World Aquatics Championship in Japan. She also finished the fastest swimmer in the 200m breaststroke this year.
10 Temba Bavuma and the Proteas
The Proteas finished the year having won 16 of their 25 ODIs, but it was their run at the Cricket World Cup in India where they created much hope and inspired South Africans to dream big, and then dashed those hopes much to the anguish of a nation.
Largely written off ahead of the tournament, a brilliant come-from-behind 3-2 ODI series victory over Australia set the scene for an intriguing World Cup campaign. Nobody believed the Proteas would make the semi-finals of the showpiece event, where they eventually came unstuck against eventual champions and the old enemy, Australia.
They did so by smashing records at every opportunity. There were some magnificent individual performances, too. Gerald Coetzee and Marco Jansen enjoyed a break-out year, while Quinton de Kock, Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram and David Miller compiled a mountain of runs.
Was it a disappointing end to their campaign? Yes. But it remained a memorable journey to get there.
9 Gerda Steyn
Gerda Steyn just keeps on defying the odds, doesnt she?
As if her status as the countrys best road runner of her generation was not enough, she went and had a 2023 season for the ages. It is generally agreed that you cant really race both the Two Oceans and the Comrades Marathon in one year. But Steyn did, and smashed both.
She first improved on the Two Oceans Marathon record that she set last year when she smashed Frith van der Merwes long-standing mark from 1989 with a superb 3:29.06.
Later on, she added the Comrades Marathon Down Run record to the Up Run she already held as she broke yet another one of Van Der Merwes time for the ages with a display so dominant she beat the runner up by 11-and-a-half minutes, as she crossed the finish line in the record time of 5:44.54.
She completed a hat-trick of records by improving her standard marathon time, which is the South African record, by a minute and 25 seconds with a 2:24.03, at the Valencia Marathon. What an athlete!
Steyns next goal is next years Olympics in Paris, and theres every reason to foresee her shining there too.
Dricus du Plessis after his win against Whittaker. Suid Afrika, hulle weet nie wat ons weet nie Wow, what a fight! Cant wait for him to beat the arrogant @stylebender . #UFC290 @dricusduplessis pic.twitter.com/htlSaMKWnC
Boer (@twatterbaas) July 9, 20238 Dricus du Plessis
Hulle weet nie wat ons weet nie. With those immortal words, MMA star Dricus du Plessis wrote himself into South African sporting folklore after defeating Robert Whittaker in July.
Du Plessis became the No 1 contender in the middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) with that incredible victory in Nevada, achieved via a second-round technical knockout.
Afterwards, Du Plessis shouted into the TV camera, Hulle weet nie wat ons weet nie (They dont know what we know), and that rallying cry was quickly adopted by many other South African teams and sportspeople.
Some of the Springboks have mentioned it, and golf star Erik van Rooyen repeated it after winning the PGA Tours WWT Championship in Mexico in November.
Du Plessis was scheduled to take on UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya a Nigerian-born New Zealander a few months after his win over Whittaker, but had to withdraw due to a fractured foot.
Since then, Adesanya has lost his crown to American Sean Strikland, and now Du Plessis will face the latter at UFC 297 in Toronto on January 20.
Lets hope that the fighter from Pretoria, who will celebrate his 30th birthday on January 14, will earn himself a perfect present, and that we will hear his famous phrase once more.
7 Orlando Pirates cup success
Spanish mentor Jose Riveiros impact was instant at Orlando Pirates as he guided the Buccaneers to second on the Premiership log last season, behind perennial champions Mamelodi Sundowns.
Despite being all of 16 points behind the Brazilians on the standings, Pirates proved that they could become title contenders once more, and they were rewarded with cup success this year.
First up was the Nedbank Cup, where they survived a penalty shoot-out against Dondol Stars in the quarter-finals to set up a mouth-watering semi-final against arch-rivals Kaizer Chiefs.
It turned out to be a thrilling Soweto Derby, with Kermit Erasmus scoring early on to put Pirates in f
