Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
Categories
UFS News Media Release Research
Years
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Months
January February March April May June July August September October November December
Previous Archive
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

Co-architect of peace and reconciliation in Northern Ireland to present Annual Reconciliation Lecture today
2015-03-03

Colm McGivern, Director of the British Council in South Africa

To emphasise the University of the Free State’s Human Project, the UFS has positioned itself as an institution that is recognised across the world not only for excellence in academic achievement, but also in human reconciliation. The Annual Reconciliation Lecture, whose organising committee is chaired by Prof Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela, is a unique and major initiative to enhance this important vision of our university.

This year, Colm McGivern, Director of the British Council in South Africa, will present the Fourth Annual Reconciliation Lecture at the Centenary Hall on Thursday 5 March 2015.

Colm McGivern was brought up in Northern Ireland at the height of the conflict that has come to be known as the ‘Troubles.’ His early experiences of conflict, sectarianism, and living in a divided society have driven his career, and his personal commitment to peace-building and promoting reconciliation.  He was a student leader at Queen’s University in Belfast during the time of the first IRA Ceasefires in the 1990s, and then worked in the Higher and Further Education sectors, and at a community level with peace-building groups across Northern Ireland and internationally. He was Director of the British Council in Northern Ireland for four years and, in that role, facilitated discussions between divided communities before and during the Ceasefires and Peace Process, with a particular focus on bringing young people together across Ireland.

In his role as Director of the British Council, McGivern has created thousands of cultural and educational connections between the UK and SA. Every year, he ensures that young South Africans can get access to educational and cultural opportunities that are life-changing while deepening their connection with the UK.

A highlight of this year’s lecture will be a performance by musicians from the Odeion School of Music, Tumi Ntantiso (soprano), Bertha Menyatso (mezzo-soprano), Malefetsane Mofokeng (baritone), and Cezarre Strydom (piano). They will be performing works from ‘Tales of Hoffmann’ by Jacques Offenbach, among others.

Members of the public and media are welcome.

RSVP: Jo-Anne Naidoo, e-mail: Naidooja@ufs.ac.za

Date: Thursday 5 March 2015
Time: 17:30 (please be seated by 17:15)
Venue: Centenary Complex, Bloemfontein Campus

 

The event will be streamed live on: http://livestream.ufs.ac.za/

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept