SA Olympic team leaves for Barcelona

The South African Olympic team of ninety-five members took off to participate in the 22nd Olympic games staged in Barcelona, Spain in 1994. This was South Africa's first participation after a long ban by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for its apartheid policy. At this time, the South African team was composed of members drawn from all racial groups. It competed for the first time under an Interim Olympic Flag of South Africa instead of the "old apartheid national flag". The games were presumed to be the best since 1972 and well attended. The previous ones were marred by boycotts from other countries. A record of 10,563 athletes representing 169 nations gathered without a single country boycotting the events. On 25th July, Nelson Mandela attended the opening ceremony at Barcelona to witness South Africa's multi-racial team parading.