Portugal–South Africa relations as part of a land claim). Bartolomeu Dias did so in 1486, and Vasco da Gama recorded a sighting of the Cape of Good Hope in 1497, en route to India. South Africa had close relations with Portugal, particularly during the time that Mozambique and Angola were Portuguese colonies. South Africa under apartheid was ruled by the National Party, which shared common ground with the anti-communist "Estado Novo" regime of António Salazar in Portugal. Following Britain's decision to grant independence to its colonies in Africa, the government of Hendrik Verwoerd feared that the newly-independent states would fall under the influence
Portugal at the Olympics Portugal at the Olympics Portugal first participated at the Olympic Games in 1912 and has since taken part in every edition of the Summer Olympic Games. Earlier that year, the Olympic Committee of Portugal (COP, "Comité Olímpico de Portugal") was recognised by the International Olympic Committee as the Portuguese National Olympic Committee. In 1952, athletes representing Portugal competed for the first time at the Olympic Winter Games, and have only missed two editions since 1988. As of the 2016 Summer Olympics, thirty-seven Portuguese athletes have won a total of twenty-four medals (four golds, eight silvers and twelve bronzes) in nine