OLYMPIC gold medal winner and multi-SA swimming record-holder Ryk Neethling expects South Africans to do well at the London Games this year, though he believes the target of 12 medals might be too high.

He said: "I think we will be getting less medals than the 12 being targeted, but I'm sure the athletes will do well.

"We have some quality athletes who will be representing the country."

The qualification standards for the SA Olympic team have been a hot topic with many believing that the criteria are unfair and too strict because it is harder for athletes to qualify than in other countries, but the former swimmer is supportive of the stringent standards.

"The stringent qualification we have for the Olympics will count in our favour. It is good to have high standards because that way we can be competitive," he said.

Neethling became the first South African at the Games in Beijing in 2008 to compete in four successive Olympics after making his first appearance at the 1996 Games in Atlanta, US.

He was part of the 2004 Athens Games gold medal-winning 4x100m relay team, which set a world record time of 3min 13.17sec. The team consisted of Neethling, Roland Schoeman, Lyndon Ferns and Darian Townsend.

Neethling still beams with pride when he remembers the historic race.

"I wrote a whole book about the success of winning the gold medal. It was quite an experience. It was really something special," he said.

Neethling, who retired from competitive swimming after the 2008 Olympics, remains involved in swimming by managing the current swimmers, including SA medal hopeful Cameron van der Bergh.

Outside of the sport, Neethling is a director at a wine estate in the Cape winelands.

• This is the second of our series interviewing former South African Olympians