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22 July 2021 | Story Ruan Bruwer | Photo Roger Sedres
Can Wayde van Niekerk repeat his amazing feat from the 2016 Olympics – now five years later – at the next Games?
It is a year later, but the Tokyo 2020 Olympics finally started on Friday, 23 July 2021. In team South Africa, a couple of the athletes and management, many of them medal contenders, call themselves Kovsies.

From 1 August, the progress of the country’s golden boy, Wayde van Niekerk, will be closely followed when he tries to hold on to the title as Olympic 400 m champion – he is still the world record holder (set at the 2016 Games). The final of the 400 m is scheduled for 5 August.

One of only five female athletes in the South African team, Gerda Steyn will compete in the marathon on 7 August. This is her first time at the Olympics. 

She is in red-hot form. In April, she broke a 25-year record in Italy when she ran the fastest-ever marathon by a South African woman, finishing in 2:25:28. She is the defending Comrades and Two Oceans champ.

Protea hockey player, Nicole Erasmus, will become a fourth-generation Olympic contender in her family. Her mother, Lynne Walraven (née Tasker) was a Zimbabwean swimmer, her great-uncle, Anthony Tasker, was a member of the South African rowing team, and her great-great-uncle, Frank Rushton, was a South African hurdles athlete. 

From 26 to 28 July, the South African sevens rugby team, with former Shimlas Chris Dry as a team member and Neil Powell as head coach, will aim to improve on their bronze medal achieved in 2016. Powell was also the head coach at the time, and another former Kovsie, Philip Snyman, captained the Blitzboks.

Kate Murray (formerly Roberts), head coach and high-performance manager of Triathlon South Africa, will act as the SA triathlon coach. She is a double Olympic participant, having raced for South Africa at the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games.

 


News Archive

UFS researcher runner-up in 2014 Women in Science Awards
2014-08-18

 

Prof Jeanet Conradie
Photo: Supplied

Prof Jeanet Conradie, professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of the Free State (UFS), was the runner up in the senior category for Distinguished Women Researchers: Physical and Engineering Science in the Department of Science and Technology’s 2014 Women in Science Awards. With this award, female scientists and researchers are encouraged and rewarded, and also profiled as role models for younger women. 
 
Science and research, by which new concepts are discovered, is her great passion. Due to this keen interest in science, Prof Conradie studied a variety of subjects during her undergraduate years, providing her with a vast knowledge and the necessary background for her current main research interest, which is a combination of various scientific fields. Her PhD in Chemistry, as well as her strong background in Physics, Computer Science, Mathematics and Applied Maths, influenced her choice of research interest and expertise to gradually develop in the direction of computational chemistry, which is a beautiful combination of chemistry and physics. 
 
Today, Prof Conradie’s research expertise is in computational chemistry, using the super computer and appropriate software to simulate, understand and predict the behaviour of atoms and molecules in real life. The use of computational chemistry makes it possible to study chemical reactions and phenomena that are impossible or too dangerous to study experimentally. Her research team also performs experimental work in the laboratory to combine and compare with the computational analysis. Based on the results obtained, new materials with specific properties are developed. 
 
“We are very proud of Prof Conradie. This award is the result of 14 years of hard word, a lot of it after hours. We are fortunate to have someone like you as colleague who puts guidance to students and learners first in research, teaching and community service,” said Prof André Roodt, Head of the Department of Chemistry at the UFS. 
 
Prof Corli Witthuhn, Vice-Rector: Research said: “Prof Conradie serves as a role model for younger academic scholars in higher education through her motivation, productivity and drive. She also serves as an example of how female scientist can reach the top of their profession while juggling both professional and family responsibilities. This is well deserved recognition for her outstanding research achievements”

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