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Overwhelmed, says Louzanne about her Paralympic medal

30 August 2021 | Story Ruan Bruwer | Photo Roger Sedres (Gallo Images)

Lozanne Coetzee_Gallo read more — Louzanne Coetzee and her guide Estean Badenhorst won the silver medal in the 1 500 m in a new African time at the Paralympics in Tokyo on Monday.

It’s been eight years of waiting, but Louzanne Coetzee will finally hang a medal around her neck, and this on the biggest sporting stage in the world.

Coetzee won the silver medal in the 1 500 m women’s T11 final at the Paralympics in Tokyo on Monday (30 August 2021) morning. In the process, she and her guide, Estean Badenhorst, set a new African record (4:40.96).

They are both former University of the Free State (UFS) students, and Coetzee is a resident on the Bloemfontein Campus.

“I have been competing for eight years and this is my first medal. I’m just overwhelmed. I couldn’t have asked for a better race, a better guide, and better preparation. I’m just very thankful for how everything went down,” Coetzee said.

The race took place at 32 degrees with a humidity percentage of 70 plus. Coetzee’s time was only 2.04 seconds off the previous world record.

She has had a stunning Games so far. In Sunday’s heat, she improved her personal best from 4:51.65 to 4:49.24 and ran another eight seconds quicker on Monday.

It was also a personal triumph for Coetzee, who experienced the disappointment of being disqualified five years ago at the Rio Games, after a ruling that her guide had stepped in front of her.

Prof Francis Petersen, UFS Rector and Vice-Chancellor, saluted Coetzee. “We are tremendously proud of what she has achieved throughout her athletics career. She has represented the country numerous times at international sport events and winning a silver medal and setting a new African record is the culmination of hard work and exceptional endurance.”

“The entire university community was rooting for her; she has done us and her country extremely proud,” Prof Petersen said.

Coetzee still has the T12 marathon on Sunday on her schedule.

News Archive

UFS awards honorary doctorates during spring graduation ceremony

2004-09-20

The University of the Free State (UFS) will award three honorary doctorates this week during its spring graduation ceremony.

The graduation ceremony will take place on Wednesday 22 September 2004 and the honorary doctorates are Dr Calvin Seerveld (D Phil (hc), Prof YK Seedat (MD (hc) and Dr Mary Seely (D Sc (hc).

“The doctorates come from a wide spectrum of specialty fields and serve as proof of the UFS’s policy to give recognition to people who stand out and make a difference,” says Prof Frederick Fourie, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS.

Dr Calvin Seerveld (D Phil (hc) will receive an honorary doctorate for his academic leadership at the Institute for Christian Studies in Toronto and the wide international recognition he has received throughout his career in various subject areas, eg philosophical aesthesia, the theory of art, the methodology of the description of the history of art and continental philosophy.

Prof YK Seedat (MD (hc) will receive an honorary doctorate for his extraordinary contribution to medicine in South Africa. His research in the field of hypertension in blacks received international recognition and significantly contributed to the understanding of the pathophysiology of this condition.

In the mid-eighties Prof Seedat was instrumental in supporting the bid from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of the Orange Free State (UOFS) to host the first Colleges of Medicine of South Africa examination in Bloemfontein. This started a tradition that is still being maintained. Prof Seedat is a researcher at the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal.

The Executive Director of the Desert Research Foundation of Namibia, Dr Mary Seely (D Sc (hc)), will be honored for the impact she has made on the development of environmental management in the drier parts of the southern African subcontinent. Though her research has been concentrated in Namibia, she has affected the professional lives of large numbers of ecologists, environmental scientists and environmental managers.

According to Prof Fourie the three doctorates form part of the greater group of 18 who will be honored by the UFS during its centenary year. The last group will be receiving their honorary doctorates in October 2004.

Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Media Representative
Tel: (051) 401-2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za
20 September 2004

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