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Kovsie women end fourth in Varsity Football

23 September 2019 | Story Ruan Bruwer | Photo Varsity Sports

Noxolo Magudu, captian of the Kovsies Women Soccer team — Noxolo Magudu (right), captain of the Kovsie football team, were one of her team's standout performers in Varsity Football.

The Kovsie women’s football team made history when they reached the semi-final stage of Varsity Football for the very first time.

They won two out of their three group matches (2-0 against the Central University of Technology and 1-0 against Tuks) on Thursday (19 September) and Friday (20 September) in Potchefstroom to finish second in their group behind the Tshwane University of Technology.

In the semi-finals on Saturday (21/09), the University of the Western Cape was too strong, prevailing by 7-0.

Finishing in the fourth place is, however, a great improvement on the sixth place in the previous two years. This was the fourth year of participation for the UFS ladies. They didn’t play in the first three renditions. In 2016, they finished fifth.

According to coach, Godfrey Tenoff, he placed his hope on the trust and unity of the team to carry them far. “When you have that as a coach and as a team, you can do really well. A willing player and team are always easier to coach than a talented team or player.
“Our goal was to make it to the second phase of the tournament,” he said.

One of the standout players for the Kovsies was their captain and striker, Noxolo Magudu, who walked away with two Player of the Match awards. Even in the quarter-final defeat, she provided a moment of brilliance which earned her the Pulse Moment of Brilliance cheque.

The UFS team has recently been doing well in the Free State’s SASOL Women's League, winning eight of their ten matches thus far.

News Archive

Kovsie gold medalist defeats Olympic champion

2015-07-07

Wayde van Niekerk and Kirani James
Photo: deuxHD DIRECT

Once again, Kovsie Wayde van Niekerk has made history by defeating the London 2012 Olympic Games champion, Kirani James, of Grenada in the Caribbean.

On 4 July 2015, he surged 0.79 seconds ahead of Kirani in his number five lane, becoming the first African to cover 400m in less than 44 seconds. The Kovsie student won the race at 43.96, occupying 10th place on the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Diamond League all-time list.

Kovsies were still celebrating the gold medalist’s South African record-setting time of 44.24 on 13 June 2015, when he dominated the Diamond League meeting. At the previous race in New York, Van Niekerk improved on his own national record of 44.38. With an impressive dash to the finish line at that particular event, he surpassed Christopher Brown’s 400m record.

In addition to the country’s record, Van Niekerk made his name as one of the continent’s record-breakers. On 7 June 2015, he broke the 1986 African 300m record. Van Niekerk replaced Ivorian Gabriel Tiacoh’s best time of 31.74 with a 31.63 championship win at the Birmingham Diamond League meeting. Simultaneously, he bettered Morné Nagel’s 2006 South African national record.

Following this outstanding performance, he was positioned in 10th place on the world list in the men’s 300m.

Currently, Van Niekerk is preparing for the 14 July 2015 Diamond League meeting to be held in Lucerne, Switzerland. His last Lucerne race was in 2014 where he clocked 20.19 in the men’s 200m. Based on his recent successes, Van Niekerk seems to have launched himself on a history-making spree, and may well set a new personal best.

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