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18 April 2018 Photo Facebook
Bright future for Two Oceans winner and former Kovsie Gerda Steyn
Gerda Steyn, former Kovsie student and winner of the Two Oceans ultramarathon this year, with her trophy.

Gerda Steyn, female winner of this year’s Two Oceans ultramarathon, says her life has changed for the better in a very short time.

The former Kovsie received an invitation to a world-renowned marathon at the end of the year. She may not reveal the details yet.

Steyn, who studied Quantity Surveying and Construction Management at the University of the Free State (UFS) between 2009 and 2012, was just the third South African to win the Two Oceans since 1994. Her time of 3:39:31 was the second-best in the past seven years. For many she was a surprise winner because she didn’t compete last year and only managed a 14th place in 2016. 

“Things really took off since the race (in Cape Town at the end of March). I received a lot of exposure. People say you must try and win the race, but they don’t tell you what will happen after that with all the media attention.

“My next goal is the Comrades for which I started training in the third week of April. I will only decide on my specific goals for the race two weeks beforehand.” She obtained a fourth place last year.

According to Steyn, who is a full-time athlete, she only did a couple of cross country races while she was studying. 

“I played a bit of soccer and hockey for my hostel (Soetdoring). I have very fond memories from my university days. A couple of our hostel friends had a reunion after the race in Cape Town and had reason to have a big party.”

News Archive

Geology under spotlight as part of UFS's Darwin lecture series
2009-03-05

 
Two staff members of the University of the Free State's (UFS) Department of Geology recently presented lectures in the UFS's Charles Darwin lecture series entitled "The story of life and survival" on the Main Campus in Bloemfontein. Prof. Marian Tredoux presented a lecture on "The origin of our solar system" and Mr Johan Loock spoke about "The geological evolution of our planet: The first billion years". Here are, from the left: Danita Hohne, Honnours student in Geology at the UFS, Mr Loock, Prof. Tredoux, Pierre Louw, student in Environmental Health at the Central University of Technology, and Ms Janine Kottke-Levin, Ph.D. student in Geology from Germany.
Photo: Stephen Collett 

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