Bianca Buitendag is on the cusp of claiming South Africa’s first gold medal in this year’s Olympic Games.
Tokyo, Japan (27 July 2021) – South Africa’s surf great Bianca Buitendag will face off with American Carissa Moore in the women’s surfing final later this morning.
The 27-year-old will now surf for South Africa’s second medal in the finals after sensationally pipping Caroline Marks of the USA in a gripping rivalry on Tuesday morning to nab our first gold of this year major global sporting event.
Buitendag hails from Victoria Bay, Western Cape, South Africa. She was born on 9 November 1993. This legend grew up near the beach of False Bay outside of Cape Town.
Not everything in her life was moonshine and roses. In 2015 her father, Collin Buitendag, died.
“But, life goes on a quickly. I guess it does shape your character. Big time, but I wouldn’t say grateful for that time. I think it was a bit of a struggle, but it definitely did shape some sort of resilience or tenacity,” she said in a media interview last year.
“I wouldn’t wish upon anyone. But if it does happen, there’s opportunity to grow from it.”
The final is set to take place at 09:31 CAT on Tuesday.
Thanks to Tatjana Schoenmaker, TeamSA has firmly established itself on the medal board, with aspirations of adding to the total in the coming days. Tatjana won a silver medal in the early hours of this morning.
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