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Louzanne Coetzee ready to take shot at Paralympics title

27 August 2021 | Story Ruan Bruwer

Coetzee copy — Louzanne Coetzee at the Paralympics in Tokyo with her two guides, Claus Kempen (left) and Estean Badenhorst. She is one of 34 members in Team South Africa.

For some athletes, the postponement of the Paralympics was a big frustration, but for Louzanne Coetzee it was a ‘blessing in disguise’.

According to the former University of the Free State (UFS) student and current Residence Head of Akasia on the UFS Bloemfontein Campus, she was more than happy to get another 12 months to prepare herself to the very best of her ability. She will be in action at the Tokyo Paralympics in the 1 500 m on Sunday (29 August 2021) and Monday (30 August). On 5 September, she will tackle the marathon. It is her second Paralympics.

“This is the most exited I have ever been for an event. It has been so long since I was able to compete on a high level. I think it is a blessing in disguise. It allowed me more time to prepare. I’m in a great state and I cannot wait,” she said.

In the 1 500 m, Coetzee will be guided by Estean Badenhorst. In the marathon she will run next to Claus Kempen, with whom she has completed a couple of marathons before.

“They are both very experienced and I’m fortunate to have such a great team with me. When you are running an event like the 1 500 m, you need to fully trust your guide with his decision making.”

“The main focus is the track item. I won’t put too much pressure on myself in the marathon. The prime goal is to gain experience in the longer distance, because that is where I’ll be shifting in the future,” she explained.

The South African 1 500 m record holder in the T11 classification (totally blind) clocked a personal best time of 4:51.65 in 2019. She is the world record holder in the 5 000 m; however, the item does not feature on the Paralympic programme.

News Archive

New schools, restructuring part of streamlined Faculty of Health Sciences

2017-10-12

From the left, front are: Dr Jocelyn Naicker,
Prof Gert van Zyl, Prof Magda Mulder;
back from left: Prof Chris Viljoen,
Marlene Viljoen, Deputy Director: Faculty of Health Sciences;
Prof Nathaniel Mofolo; and Prof Santie van Vuuren.
Photo: Rulanzen Martin

Numerous developments, such as the creation of two new schools and one newly restructured School of Medicine in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of the Free State (UFS), will catapult this renowned faculty to even greater heights.

Five-school structure to increase access
A five-school structure was proposed at the annual Faculty Management retreat in July 2016. The previous three-school model included the Schools of Medicine, Nursing, and Allied Health Professions.

The current School of Medicine has been restructured and will henceforth be known as the School of Clinical Medicine. The Schools of Pathology and Biomedical Sciences have been added to the faculty. “So, three new schools were in fact created within the faculty,” said Prof Gert van Zyl, Dean of the faculty.

“There was also a request from the National Health Laboratory Services to group academics that is rendering services in pathology into a new School of Pathology.” This is what motivated the faculty management to create two new schools.

Esteemed academics appointed
With the creation of the new schools, there were also new appointments within the Faculty of Health Sciences. Dr Jocelyn Naicker has been appointed as the new part-time Head of the School of Pathology, Prof Chris Viljoen was appointed as the part-time Head of the School of Biomedical Sciences, and Prof Nathaniel Mofolo as the new Head of the School of Clinical Medicine. Prof Santie van Vuuren remains Head of the School of Allied Health Professions, and Prof Magda Mulder as the head of the School of Nursing.

Research outputs to remain as usual
The addition of the new schools will not impact research output. “In the past, research was done across departmental boundaries between all the departments in the faculty,” Prof Van Zyl said. The advantages of adding two additional schools are that the workload will be distributed among the five schools. The heads of schools will work within their respective disciplines and related areas, and will eliminate the duplication of administrative functions.

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