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Johannesburg - The South African team will be based in South London for their pre-Olympic Games training camps ahead of the 2012 Games in London.
The South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) put together a task team in July which decided the athletes would be based at St Mary's University College, Twickenham and the Lensbury Club, and will also make use of sports clubs in the area.
The SA team picked up only one medal at last year's Beijing Games - through long jump silver medallist Khotso Mokoena - but SASCOC have set their sights on a hefty 12 medals in London.
"In line with all our planning for the 2012 Games and the run-in to London it's absolutely critical that we quickly identify the areas where we are going to train," said SASCOC president Gideon Sam.
"It's important that we get the support structures in place and also build and maintain sporting relationships in England that will benefit our athletes both pre and post 2012.
"I must say that in the run-up to the 2012 Games it's fantastic that we were able to identify a training camp venue so early on.
"It's very important that we do it right and get the athletes into the international atmosphere at an early stage and let them get used to their surroundings.
"They must be exposed to the international set-up. At the Beijing Olympics it was quite an eye-opener and I think some of the athletes were a bit over-awed. Hopefully these kind of camps will be a great help."
Ezera Tshabangu, SASCOC's general manager for high performance and project manager for 2012, said they were also planning a camp with the provisional squad for 2011 when they would visit the actual competition venues for 2012.
"This is great news for St Mary’s University College and its south London partners," said Sebastian Coe, chairperson of the London 2012 Organising Committee.
"These facilities will help South African athletes train and prepare well for the London Games.
"It also gives St Mary’s and other world class clubs in the area a chance to get involved in our plans in many different ways and feel the excitement of the Games."
Last month, SASCOC announced Cardiff, Wales as the training base for the 2012 Paralympics.
