Athletics - Team South Africa

General
South Africa are making their third Olympic appearance in the 4x100m relay in Tokyo. They first appeared at the 1924 Games, and 84 years later took part in the 2008 Games in Beijing where they failed to finish their heat.

The South African team were the first nation other than the United States of America or Canada to win a world championship title in the event, when they claimed gold at the 2001 edition ahead of Trinidad and Tobago. Since then, their results at the tournament have been modest, as they failed to progress from the heats at the next four world championships they competed at. At the 2019 edition, however, they qualified for their first final since 2001, thus securing their ticket to Tokyo, and finished fifth out of the six teams that posted an official result in Doha.

Heading into Tokyo, the South African team won gold at the 2021 World Relays in Poland.