South Africa at the 2026 Winter Olympics
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| South Africa at the 2026 Winter Olympics | |
|---|---|
 | |
| IOC code | RSA |
| NOC | South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee |
| Website | www |
| in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy 6 February 2026 – 22 February 2026 | |
| Competitors | 5 (2 men and 3 women) in 4 sports |
| Flag bearers (opening) | Matthew Smith & Nicole Burger |
| Flag bearer (closing) | Thomas Weir |
| Medals |
|
| Winter Olympics appearances (overview) | |
South Africa competed at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, from 6 to 22 February 2026. The 2026 games were its first participation in the Winter Olympics since 2018 after missing the 2022 games.
Cross-country skier Matthew Smith and skeleton athlete Nicole Burger were the country's flagbearer during the opening ceremony.[1][2][3] Meanwhile, Thomas Weir was the country's flagbearer during the closing ceremony.[4][5]
The following is the list of number of competitors participating at the Games per sport/discipline.
| Sport | Men | Women | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine skiing | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Cross-country skiing | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Freestyle skiing | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Skeleton | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 2 | 3 | 5 |
Alpine skiing
South Africa qualified one female and one male alpine skier through the basic quota.[6][7]
| Athlete | Event | Run 1 | Run 2 | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | ||
| Thomas Weir | Men's giant slalom | 1:29.55 | 68 | 1:22.48 | 62 | 2:52.03 | 63 |
| Men's slalom | DNF | ||||||
| Lara Markthaler | Women's giant slalom | 1:12.17 | 51 | 1:19.29 | 48 | 2:31.46 | 47 |
| Women's slalom | 52.72 | 46 | 56.95 | 40 | 1:49.67 | 39 | |
Cross-country skiing
South Africa qualified one male cross-country skier through the basic quota.[8] 34-year-old Matt Smith qualified to represent the country in the sport.[9] Smith had only taken up the sport two years ago after moving from South Africa to Norway.[10] This will mark the country's first participation in the sport in 16 years, after last competing at the 2010 Winter Olympics.[11]
| Athlete | Event | Final | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Deficit | Rank | ||
| Matthew Smith | Men's 10 km freestyle | 30:04.4 | +9:28.2 | 108 |
