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22 December 2022 | Story Jóhann Thormählen | Photo Anja Aucamp
Peter Makgato
Peter Makgato showed true perseverance in coming back after being out of action for more than a year with an Achilles tendon injury. The Kovsie long jumper won a bronze medal at the South African Championships in 2022.

If it wasn’t for Peter Makgato’s UFS support system, he would have been lost to South African athletics. The road of recovery after a serious injury can be lonesome, but he was never alone.

The promising long jumper had to learn to walk again after the injury to his Achilles tendon and could only compete more than a year after his dreams were shattered in November 2020.

Only months after returning to jumping in 2022, he was winning medals again.

Keeping me focused

“Without KovsieSport, I believe I would have hung up my spikes after that injury,” says Makgato. “Throughout the entire journey back, I had support from my coach (Emmarie Prinsloo; Head of KovsieSport Jumping Academy) and Oom DB (Prinsloo; Head of Athletics at KovsieSport).”

He also praises “the expert medical help” from Kovsie Health and says he went through nothing alone. “My progress was monitored by a team that knew me before the injury and this meant they were able to keep me focused on the progress and not on the injury.”

Although he had injuries before, Makgato says the emotional challenges were much bigger. “What really helped me were a few words from Wayde van Niekerk days after my operation when I went back to the track on crutches. He told me not to lose my head.

“That is the best advice you can give someone in my position. Physically I was broken, I had to make sure that mentally I fought to stay above the waters.”

Bigger goals in mind

He was only able to walk again from May 2021, started rehab in August 2021, and was running properly by December 2021.

He was only able to jump competitively again in March 2022, and a month later claimed a bronze medal at the South African Championships (7,47 m). This was followed by a USSA bronze in May 2022 (7,46 m).

“I had bigger goals in mind. Now that I look back, I realise that for a person who could not even run properly five months before and who had little preparation time, I was doing pretty good.”

And now the Master of Laws student has his sights on bigger things again: The World Athletics Championships next year and the Olympic Games in 2024.

News Archive

TEDxUFS spreads the power of ideas
2014-07-29

  

Photo: Evert Kleynhans, RooistoelTV

Technology, Entertainment and Design (TED) fused into one conference at the first ever TEDxUFS event on Saturday 26 July 2014 on the Bloemfontein Campus. The TEDxUFS Chapter is not only a first for our university, but is also the first of its kind in the Free State.

TED consists of a global community of inspired thinkers, leading experts and curious knowledge seekers – engaging on topics across every discipline and culture. Ideas are communicated in the form of powerful talks of maximum 18 minutes each.

The TEDxUFS event followed the same concept as outlined by the governing body of TED. During this day-long conference, leading thinkers from various fields shared their brilliant ideas with like-minded executives and academics in our community. Speakers discussed topics that ranged from innovation to research and development in the fields of economics, entrepreneurship, technology, art, design, and even theology.

More information about the TEDxUFS Chapter is available on the TEDxUFS Facebook page.

Spotlight photo: aiesecmemorial.wordpress.com

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