Corney Swanepoel is not exactly a common name in New Zealand, whilst the name Liesel Huber does not leave you thinking of apple pie, corn dogs and baseball either. South African athletes seem to be flying a lot of different flags at the Olympics in Beijing and it's nothing new.

We take a look at South African-born athletes who have competed under another flag at the Olympics...

Sarah Poewe:
Once considered one of South Africa's most promising swimmers — and the heir to breaststroke supremo Penny Heyns — Poewe had already competed at the Sydney Olympics under the South African flag in 2000 before changing her allegiance to Germany after the 2002 Commonwealth Games. Poewe picked up a bronze medal for her adopted country in Athens and was back in Beijing this year, but failed to win any more medals.

Keri-Anne Payne:
All the attention was on the inspirational Natalie du Toit, but it is worth noting that Keri-Anne Payne, who picked up the silver medal for England in the women's 10-kilometre marathon swim was also born in South Africa. Payne who won the Midmar Mile as a junior, relocated to the UK in 2001 with her family.

Precious McKenzie:
Not much is known about Precious McKenzie in the place of his birth, but that is set to change with a new movie about his life in the works. Born in Durban, the diminutive weightlifter overcame incredible odds to achieve his dreams. His father was killed by a crocodile when he was young, his mother found happiness in the bottle, and his foster mothers beat him and his sisters to such an extent that his injuries kept him from growing beyond four feet; 10 inches. And, of course, he was a black athlete in South Africa in the 1960's. Despite being considered SA's best weightlifter, he never earned Springboks colours and instead went on to compete for England. He went on to compete at three Olympics for his new country.

Frantz Kruger:
Big Frantz Kruger still holds the African record for the discus throw and won bronze for South Africa in the 2000 Games. He is also a double African champ, but after marrying Finnish triple jumper Heli Koivula, Kruger became a citizen of Finland in 2007. He turned out at the Beijing Olympics under the flag of his new country, but managed 11th place only in the final of the discus event.

Sydney Maree:
Born in the dusty mining town of Cullinan, east of Pretoria, Maree later became a US citizen. He ran for the USA in the 1988 Olympic Games, finishing fifth in the 5000m final. Maree returned to South Africa in 1995, later forming the asset management group Franklin Zamani, in Johannesburg, of which he became the CEO. Maree was recently sentenced to five years in prison on charges of fraud — proving that he could not outrun the law.

Zola Budd:
Arguably the most famous South African athlete to compete for another country, Budd did not always find it plain-sailing once she switched her allegiance to Britain. The bare-footed dynamo burst onto the scene in 1984 when she broke the 5000 metre world record — although it was not recognised by the world track and field establishment since it took place in Apartheid South Africa. By the time the 1984 Olympics came around, however, Budd was a British citizen, courtesy of a speedy (and somewhat bizarre) turn by the government to have her ready in time to compete. At the Games Budd was involved in the controversial duel with American Mary Decker with the latter crashing out spectacularly. Blamed for Decker's spill, Budd was booed all the way home by the hostile, and partisan LA crowd, and finished a lowly seventh.

Liezel Huber:
When South African tennis player Liezel Huber won the Wimbledon women's double title in 2007 —l; she was the first South African women to do so — SA tennis fans were ecstatic. They were less-than enthused, however, when she promptly announced she was becoming a citizen of the USA. It was an emotional Huber who arrived at the Beijing Games, still torn up about her decision to switch countries, but she sounds every bit an American (maybe not in accent). "Land of the brave, home of the free. I came here with absolutely nothing and look what we have, everybody has an opportunity so I thank you for that," opined Huber at the Games earlier this month. Huber promptly left Beijing without a medal.

Corney Swanepoel:
It's hard to imagine a more South African name than 'Corney Swanepoel', so imagine our surprise when we realised he was swimming for the Kiwis... The Potchefstroom-born swimmer was looking solid early on, smashing the New Zealand record to qualify for the semifinals of the 100m butterfly. But, unfortunately for Swanepoel, he went no further... sounds familiar.

Tandi Gerrard:
Tandi (a Zulu name meaning 'love') competed for South Africa at the 2006 Commonwealth Games after having taken up diving in 1992, having previously been a gymnast. But in 2000 she opted to switch her allegiance to Great Britain after she was not chosen to travel to the Sydney Games, despite qualifying for the event. She finished fourth in Athens, but in Beijing she finished last in the 3m springboard synchronised diving final.

Allistair Cragg:
Granted, he sounds like he belongs in Ireland, but the reality is that Cragg was born and raised in South Africa. Having competed for South Africa as a junior athlete, Cragg pledged allegiance to the Irish flag in 2003 and has been running under it ever since. Cragg finished a respectable eighth in the 3000m in Athens and at the time of going to press, he had placed just sixth in the heats of the 5000m in Beijing...

  • As interesting as this all is, what is more interesting is that out of all the athletes listed above, only three won medals — a bronze for Kruger in 2000, the same for Poewe in 2004 and silver for Payne in Beijing. It seems despite flying a different flag, results have been pretty much the same...

  • What to do you think of athletes — especially South Africans — changing allegiances from Games to Games? Leave a comment below!
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