Team South Africa entered Friday with 23 medals at the 2026 Commonwealth Games, aiming to build on their early success in Glasgow.
While the women’s netball team hope to finish strong after missing the semi-finals, all eyes turned to Scotstoun Stadium for the evening track events.
Sinesipho Dambile lived up to his reputation as the men’s 200m favourite.
After running a world-class 19.74 in June, Dambile delivered another dominant performance. He executed a brilliant bend and stormed down the home straight on the blue track to finish in 19.82 seconds, comfortably beating Canada’s Aaron Brown.
A relaxed Dambile noted after the race that he feels no pressure and is simply enjoying the experience. Teammate Mthi Mthimkhulu narrowly missed the final, placing fourth in his semi-final in 20.39 seconds.
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Earlier on Thursday, a young para-athlete, Masala Makutu, secured Team SA’s first track and field medal of the Games.
Coached by two-time Paralympian Sheryl James, Makutu earned a silver medal in the T12 100m.
Draped in the South African flag, Makutu expressed overwhelming gratitude after running a personal best in his debut Commonwealth appearance, adding to the 22 medals won by South African swimmers earlier in the week.
Other South Africans also posted strong results in their respective finals. Marione Fourie finished fourth in the women’s 100m hurdles with a time of 12.66 seconds, promising to use the close result as motivation to work harder.
In the women’s 5000m final, debutant Tanya Kavanagh ran a personal best of 15:48.49 to finish in eighth place.