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Kovsie classmates keeping Boks, Bafana, and Proteas fit

23 December 2022 | Story Jóhann Thormählen | Photo Supplied

They were ambitious students, in the same study group, and graduated together at the UFS. Only a few years later, three friends from the class of 2015 are in charge of the strength and conditioning of three top sports teams in South Africa.

The former classmates Bongani Tim Qumbu (Springboks), Kopano Melesi (Bafana Bafana), and Tumi Masekela (Proteas men’s cricket) are making sure the best in the country is in shape to compete internationally.

And the trio are not the only sport scientists from their class to excel. Others like Obakeng Molopyane, who did Wayde van Niekerk’s conditioning, are also part of this special group. It all started while doing their honours in Human Movement Science and being mentored by some of the best in the business, like Prof Derik Coetzee, who was the conditioning coach when the Boks won the 2007 World Cup.

Melesi says Prof Coetzee played a big role in their development as they had a good road map to follow. “He exposed us to things in the professional world that a normal student could only dream of. We worked with national teams, domestic and international professional teams.”

“When we went out there, we were not unsure about our abilities and capabilities to execute.” According to Masekela, they were keen students and had great UFS lecturers.

“We would meet up most afternoons after lectures to break down the lesson that we had until we understood exactly what the lesson was about.”

“This included digging into the history of how certain theories came about, then debating on our own thoughts on the topic,” he says.

All three gained experience while still studying. Qumbu worked with the Kovsie Young Guns and Irawas, Melesi with the Kovsie soccer team, and Masekela with the UFS cricket team.

Melesi says early exposure, through ‘volunteering’ at local teams, is key if you want to reach the top.

“I would advise aspiring students to engage with their lecturers as much as possible in class, as they have a lot of practical knowledge about sport science that you will not read in a book,” says Masekela.


Kopano Melesi has been involved with teams such as the USSA U21, South African U20 and U23 sides, and works at the Mahd Sports Academy in Saudi Arabia.	Tumi Masekela played cricket for the University of the Free State, Northerns, the Knights and Titans. He is now the strength and conditioning coach of the Proteas.	Bongani Tim Qumbu (left) worked his way to the top. He now looks after some of the best rugby players in SA like the Springbok captain Siya Kolisi. Here they are at a Bok training session.
Photo: Supplied	Photo: Cricket South Africa	Photo: Supplied

News Archive

Collaboration between UFS and Mayo Clinic to revolutionise cancer treatment

2014-06-27

Attending the lecture were, from the left: Dr Chantel Swart, Prof Lodewyk Kock, Prof Debabrata Mukhopadhyay, Prof James du Preez; back: Prof Pieter van Wyk. Dr Swart, Profs Kock and Du Preez are from the Department of Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology. Prof Mukhopadhyay is from the Mayo Clinic (US) and Prof Van Wyk is from the Centre for Microscopy at the UFS.
Photo: Supplied

The UFS made a discovery that may have enormous implications for the treatment of diseases in humans.

Since the discovery, the UFS joined forces with the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, US, in the fight against cancer.

In this collective effort, UFS researchers would be able to assist the Mayo team to:
• see how treatment in cancer patients is progressing,
• target treatments more effectively,
• reduce dosages in order to make treatment gentler on the patient,
• track the effectiveness of the chemotherapy drugs used, and
• gain an accurate view of how the cancer is being eliminated.

Prof Lodewyk Kock, Outstanding Professor at the Department of Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology, and his team incidentally created a technique to use argon gas particles for the first time on biological material to slice open cells to look inside.

The team that supported Prof Kock includes Dr Chantel Swart, Khumisho Dithebe (PhD student), Prof Hendrik Swart (Department of Physics) and Prof Pieter van Wyk (Centre for Microscopy).

Prof Debabrata Mukhopadhyay from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, US, got to hear about this breakthrough at the UFS and a collaboration between the two institutions was established.

During a visit to the Bloemfontein Campus, Prof Mukhopadhyay explained novel techniques that make use of gold nanoparticles. These particles attach to chemotherapeutic drugs to selectively target cancer cells – dramatically decreasing the side effects to normal human cells.

For these new drugs (coupled to gold nanoparticles) to be accepted into clinical practice, visual and chemical proof is needed, though. This is where the technique developed by the UFS will play a vital role.

With the technique to look inside cells, the composition, location and metabolism of these drugs can be determined. This will aid in a proof of concept for the application of the nano-drugs. Furthermore, it will enable approval for use of these drugs in clinical trials and eventually could revolutionise cancer treatment as a whole.

For video lectures on the technique used, as well as its findings, follow these links:

1. http://vimeo.com/63643628 (Comic version for school kids)

2. http://vimeo.com/61521401 (Detailed version for fellow scientists)

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