THE last time South Africa won more than six medals at an Olympics, the first passenger jets had just come into service and mankind had yet to blast off into space.

But that is the target the High Performance Centre in Pretoria has set for their own athletes at the 2016 Games in Rio - aiming for seven.

That would be more than the nation has managed at the world's biggest multi-sport showpiece since 1952, when SA bagged 10 medals. Their best since then has been six, at London 2012 and Athens 2004.

HPC chief executive Toby Sutcliffe reiterated his target of seven at a breakfast function in honour of his athletes yesterday. This year alone they won five Commonwealth Games medals, two rowing world championship gongs and captured one podium finish at the canoeing world championships.

Their stars include newly signed swimmer Cameron van der Burgh, canoeist Bridgitte Hartley, resurgent triple jumper Khotso Mokoena and new world champion rowers John Smith and James Thompson.

They have all claimed Olympic silverware before.

Throw in 400m hurdler Cornel Fredericks and triathlete Richard Murray and there are at least seven medal opportunities, possibly more if some of the younger hopefuls come through by then.

Hartley is looking forward to the world marathon championships in the US later this month, where the 500m sprinter will try her luck on the 25km course that includes a portage over every 4km lap.

And Fredericks has become comfortable with his new status as one of the world's best.

Fredericks has become fond of winning since then, crossing first in a Diamond League race and at the Continental Cup, and he is planning to keep doing it.

''I'm going to try a few new things in training for next year's season. I'm known now and the others are going to target me. Whatever they bring, you have to hit them back."

Seven medals in Rio seems perfectly realistic.