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06 March 2019 | Story Ruan Bruwer | Photo Varsity Sports
Tharina van der Walt
Tharina van der Walt, a first-year student, won the hammer-throw item at the first Varsity Athletics meeting in Stellenbosch on Friday – the only gold medal for the Kovsies.

Hammer thrower Tharina van der Walt was the bright spark for the University of the Free State (UFS) at the first Varsity Athletics meeting in Stellenbosch on Friday.

Van der Walt, who recently turned 19 and is one of three first-year students in the UFS team of 25 athletes, bagged the only gold medal for the Free State students. She won the hammer throw with a distance of 53,12 m.

The UFS ended in fourth place behind NWU (first), UJ (second), and Tuks (third).

Six athletes achieved second places. Both Sokwakana Mogwasi (100 m) and Ts’epang Sello (800 m) came within a whisker of claiming victory.  Mogwasi lost the 100 m by 00:04 seconds, but in the process improved her personal best from 11,89 to 11,58. Sello (2:08,47) was in the lead for most of the 800 m but was eventually defeated by Niene Muller of Tuks by less than half a second.

Mogwasi was also second in the 200 m with a fast 24,92. Other silver medals were obtained by Yolandi Stander in the discus (52,70 m), Peter Makgato in the long jump (7,66 m), and Marné Mentz in a very fast 1500 m race. Mentz (04:26,63) chopped more than five seconds off her previous best time of 4:32,00. Her time was the third fastest ever in the 1 500 m at Varsity Athletics.

There were three third places: Sefako Mokhosoa (15,47 – triple jump), Petrus Jacobs (14,55 – 110 m hurdles), and the women’s 4x100 m relay team (Mogwasi, Elsabé du Plessis, Joviale Mbisha, and Micháela Wright).

Four athletes just missed out on podium positions, achieving fourth places.

The second Varsity athletics meeting will take place in Potchefstroom on 15 March 2019.

News Archive

Prof. Jansen welcomes students in Leadership Programme back on campus
2010-10-29

Prof. Jonathan Jansen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS, with Lebohang Molefe, Thabiso Nkohli, Kgotso Maya and Samkelisiwe Zulu.

The Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the University of the Free State (UFS), Prof. Jonathan Jansen, was pleasantly surprised by what the first-year students who went to the United States on a Student Leadership Programme told him on their return.

“I am so happy that these students’ views on life in general have changed for the better in such a short period of time. This trip to the USA has certainly made a big impact on their lives. I sincerely hope that they will use the opportunities offered by the UFS to study even further,” said Prof. Jansen during his recent visit to the Qwaqwa Campus where he met with students who went on a two-week US tour earlier this month.

“The trip to various universities, like the New York University, the Cleveland State University, the Mount Holyoke College, the Cornell University, amongst others, made us to be proud South Africans. We were encouraged by the patriotic spirit displayed by American students and we are confident that UFS students, black and white, can start spreading that to the entire country,” said Kgotso Maya, a BA student majoring in Sociology.

The five students were part of the leadership programme exclusively designed for first-year students.

 

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