South Africa left Rio de Janeiro with a total of 10 medals (2 gold, 6 silver, and 2 bronze), making it the nation's most successful Olympics since its readmission in 1992.

[2][3] Four of these medals were awarded to the track and field athletes, including two golds won by runners Caster Semenya and Wayde van Niekerk, who broke the 16-year-old world record in the men's 400 metres.

[4] South Africa also proved successful in team sports, as the rugby sevens squad, popularly known by locals as Blitzboks, scored a historic bronze after beating Japan in the men's tournament.

[7] Meanwhile, Sunette Viljoen rebounded from a disappointing 2012 result to ascend the Olympic podium at her fourth Games, earning a silver in the women's javelin throw.

[9] For individual-based sports, South Africa marked its Olympic debut in golf (new to the 2016 Games) and equestrian dressage, as well as its return to diving and artistic gymnastics after a near decade of absence.

[12] Along with Mokoena, javelin thrower Sunette Viljoen joined the exclusive club of South African athletes who competed in four consecutive Olympics, becoming the first female from her country to do so.

Other notable South African athletes included world-ranked triathlete Richard Murray, and cancer survivor Lawrence Brittain, together with his veteran partner Shaun Keeling in the men's rowing pair.

Track star Wayde van Niekerk, who entered the Games as the reigning world champion and a potential gold medal favorite in the men's 400 metres, led the South African team as the flag bearer in the opening ceremony, the first by a male after 12 years.

[17] Following the end of the qualifying period on 11 July, thirty-nine athletes (26 men and 13 women) rounded out the nation's track and field roster for the Games three days later, with triple jumper and Beijing 2008 silver medalist Godfrey Khotso Mokoena leading the team for his fourth straight Olympics.

[21][22][23] The men's road cycling team, Daryl Impey and Louis Meintjes, were named as part of the initial batch of nominated athletes to the Olympic roster on 25 May 2016, with the women, Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio and An-Li Kachelhoffer joining them on 14 July.

[17][24] Dressage rider, Tanya Seymour, qualified for the equestrian competition by virtue of her top national finish from Africa and the Middle East at the FEI qualification event in Perl, Germany.

The rowing team, led by London 2012 gold medalists John Smith and James Thompson, was named as part of the full nomination of South African athletes for the Games on 14 July 2016.

London 2012 Olympian Richard Murray secured the men's triathlon spot with a top three finish at the ITU World Qualification Event in Rio de Janeiro.

[50] Meanwhile, Henri Schoeman, Mari Rabie, and Gillian Sanders were ranked among the top 40 eligible triathletes each in the men's and women's event, respectively, based on the ITU Olympic Qualification List as of 15 May 2016.