South Africa at the 2006 Winter Olympics

Three men from South Africa competed at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. One of them, Alexander Heath, became the first African to compete in all 5 alpine events. The three-man South African team was the largest from the continent in Turin.

South Africa at the 2006 Winter Olympics
IOC code	RSA
NOC	South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee
Website	www.sascoc.co.za
in Turin
Competitors	3 (3 men) in 3 sports
Flag bearer	Alexander Heath (opening) Tyler Botha (closing)[1][2]
Medals	Gold 0 Silver 0 Bronze 0 Total 0
Winter Olympics appearances (overview)
1960 1964–1992 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022

Alpine skiing

Alexander Heath, competing in his third Olympics, qualified in all five events, with his best finish a 27th in the giant slalom.[3]

Athlete	Event	Final
		Run 1	Run 2	Run 3	Total	Rank
Alexander Heath	Men's downhill	n/a			1:59.79	52
	Men's super-G	n/a			1:37.77	50
	Men's giant slalom	1:25.61	1:25.81	n/a	2:51.42	27
	Men's slalom	Did not finish
	Men's combined	1:47.62	Did not finish

Note: In the men's combined, run 1 is the downhill, and runs 2 and 3 are the slalom. In the women's combined, run 1 and 2 are the slalom, and run 3 the downhill.

Cross-country skiing

Kraas competed in three events in Turin, but finished in only one, the sprint, where he finished 57th out of 80 competitors.[4]

Distance

Athlete	Event	Final
		Total	Rank
Oliver Kraas	Men's 15 km classical	Did not finish
	Men's 50 km freestyle	Did not finish

Sprint

Athlete	Event	Qualifying		Quarterfinal		Semifinal		Final
		Total	Rank	Total	Rank	Total	Rank	Total	Rank
Oliver Kraas	Men's sprint	2:27.68	57	Did not finish					57

Skeleton

Tyler Botha finished second in a pair of Challenge Cup events that allowed him to qualify for the Games, where he ended up in 21st place.[5][6]

Athlete	Event	Final
		Run 1	Run 2	Total	Rank
Tyler Botha	Men's	59.43	1:00.63	2:00.06	21

References

1. "Flagbearers for the Opening Ceremony". Retrieved 30 March 2009.
2. "Flagbearers for the Closing Ceremony". Retrieved 30 March 2009.
3. "Torino 2006 Official Report - Alpine Skiing" (PDF). Torino Organizing Committee. LA84 Foundation. March 2009. Retrieved 22 September 2009.
4. "Torino 2006 Official Report - Cross Country Skiing" (PDF). Torino Organizing Committee. LA84 Foundation. March 2009. Retrieved 22 September 2009.
5. "SA man a hot contender for Winter Olympics". The Mercury. 2 February 2006. Retrieved 22 September 2009.
6. "Torino 2006 Official Report - Skeleton" (PDF). Torino Organizing Committee. LA84 Foundation. March 2009. Retrieved 22 September 2009.