The Most Famous

Athletes from South Africa

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This page contains a list of the greatest South Africans Athletes. The pantheon dataset contains 6,025 Athletes, 138 of which were born in South Africa. This makes South Africa the birth place of the 28th most number of Athletes behind Jamaica and Argentina.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary South Africans Athletes of all time. This list of famous South Africans Athletes is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of South Africans Athletes.

Photo of Reggie Walker

1. Reggie Walker (1889 - 1951)

With an HPI of 64.58, Reggie Walker is the most famous South Africans Athlete.   biography has been translated into 24 different languages on wikipedia.

Photo of Sid Atkinson

2. Sid Atkinson (1901 - 1977)

With an HPI of 63.24, Sid Atkinson is the 2nd most famous South Africans Athlete.   biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Photo of Esther Brand

3. Esther Brand (1922 - 2015)

With an HPI of 62.11, Esther Brand is the 3rd most famous South Africans Athlete.   biography has been translated into 29 different languages.

Photo of Lawrence Stevens

4. Lawrence Stevens (1913 - 1989)

With an HPI of 57.86, Lawrence Stevens is the 4th most famous South Africans Athlete.   biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Photo of Oscar Pistorius

5. Oscar Pistorius (b. 1986)

With an HPI of 56.96, Oscar Pistorius is the 5th most famous South Africans Athlete.   biography has been translated into 65 different languages.

Photo of Bevil Rudd

6. Bevil Rudd (1894 - 1948)

With an HPI of 56.39, Bevil Rudd is the 6th most famous South Africans Athlete.   biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

Photo of Marjorie Clark

7. Marjorie Clark (1909 - 1993)

With an HPI of 54.95, Marjorie Clark is the 7th most famous South Africans Athlete.   biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Photo of Christian Gitsham

8. Christian Gitsham (1888 - 1956)

With an HPI of 54.93, Christian Gitsham is the 8th most famous South Africans Athlete.   biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Photo of Daphne Hasenjäger

9. Daphne Hasenjäger (b. 1929)

With an HPI of 54.70, Daphne Hasenjäger is the 9th most famous South Africans Athlete.   biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Photo of Cecil McMaster

10. Cecil McMaster (1895 - 1981)

With an HPI of 53.76, Cecil McMaster is the 10th most famous South Africans Athlete.   biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

People

Pantheon has 138 people classified as South Africans athletes born between 1888 and 2005. Of these 138, 125 (90.58%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living South Africans athletes include Oscar Pistorius, Daphne Hasenjäger, and Stefan Mitrović. The most famous deceased South Africans athletes include Reggie Walker, Sid Atkinson, and Esther Brand. As of April 2024, 7 new South Africans athletes have been added to Pantheon including Sven Schmid, Marilyn Agliotti, and Mark Plaatjes.

Living South Africans Athletes

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Deceased South Africans Athletes

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Newly Added South Africans Athletes (2025)

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Overlapping Lives

Which Athletes were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 12 most globally memorable Athletes since 1700.

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