What country is RSA in the Olympics? Explaining the abbreviation for South Africa's Olympic team

The Olympic Games bring the entire world together and are just as much a hub for learning as they are for athletics. It's impossible to tune in to an Olympic broadcast and not hear an interesting fact or two about the countries competing.

Sometimes, learning about another country might be as simple as discovering the meaning behind the abbreviation used to refer to it during competitions. Usually, these abbreviations are a variation of the country's first three letters, with exceptions for country names with more than one word.

For example, France is abbreviated as "FRA" and Great Britain is abbreviated as "GBR." Some countries are referred to, however, by letters that don't necessarily match their first few letters. One of these countries is South Africa, which is referred to as RSA.

What does it stand for? Find out more below.

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What does RSA stand for at the Olympics?

RSA is the three-letter country code used by the International Olympic Committee to identify South Africa. The abbreviation refers to the country's official name, the Republic of South Africa.

During colonial rule, the country was separated into four colonies known as the Union of South Africa. On May 31, 1961, the Union of South Africa and declared itself a republic to become the Republic of South Africa.

South Africa Olympic medals

South Africa has a total of 89 medals, 27 of them gold, to its name. Thirty-eight of those medals were won in the post-apartheid era. Swimmer Chad le Clos is the most decorated South African Olympian with four medals — one gold — from 2012-16. 

It's worth noting that South Africa did not compete at the Olympic Games from 1964-88 as part of the sporting boycott against the country's apartheid. Here is a list of all of South Africa's medals by sport.