1922 — Johnny Weissmuller is the first man to break a minute in the 100m freestyle, smashing the world record as he clocks 58.6 sec at a gala in Alameda, a city in the San Francisco Bay Area. The swimmer, called the “Flying Fish” for his shallow dive during which he started swimming before hitting the water, won five Olympic golds at Paris 1924 and Amsterdam 1928 as well as a water polo bronze with the US team in France. He went on to achieve further fame playing Tarzan in Hollywood movies.
1949 — Bobby Locke becomes the first South African to win a golf major when he wins the first of his four British Open titles. Playing at Royal St George’s, Locke and Ireland’s Harry Bradshaw ended tied on five-under-par 283 after four rounds. They returned the following day for a 36-hole play-off, but Locke dominated, shooting nine-under-par to beat Bradshaw by 12 strokes.
1991 — South Africa returns to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) after more than 30 years of isolation, with an invitation to the 1992 Games in Barcelona following soon afterwards. The IOC’s Apartheid and Olympism Commission had recommended that the Interim National Olympic Committee headed by Sam Ramsamy receive full recognition. The National Party government had recently repealed the last major apartheid legislation, the Population Registration Act. The South African Council on Sport was not happy with the decision, saying they first wanted a democratically elected government in place.
2021 — Akani Simbine’s run of 18 victories in a row comes to an end as he finishes second at the Diamond League meet in Monaco. In what was touted as a dress rehearsal of the 100m Olympic final, Simbine crossed the line in 9.98 behind American Ronnie Baker (9.91). Italian Marcell Jacobs, who ended third, American Fred Kerley, sixth, and Canadian Andre De Grasse, fourth, went on to take the top three spots in Tokyo.