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15 April 2023 | Story Gerda-Marié van Rooyen | Photo Two Oceans Marathon Twitter
Gerda Steyn  winning the 2023 Two Oceans Marathon
Former UFS student, Gerda Steyn, made history this weekend – she is the first woman to win the Two Oceans Ultra Marathon four consecutive times.

Kovsie alumna Gerda Steyn provided much jubilation on Saturday 15 April 2023, as she became the first woman to win the Two Oceans Marathon four consecutive times. Steyn, who represented South Africa in the 2020 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo, Japan, in 2021, improved her personal best by finishing the race 39 seconds faster than her winning time in 2022.

Shortly after her fourth win in the 56 km race, Steyn told media that the desire to inspire girls kept her motivated during the race. “I thought of all the girls watching (the race) with their parents and seeing a woman who looked like everyone else winning this big race.” The former University of the Free State (UFS) professional athlete managed an average pace of 3:45 minutes per kilometre. Steyn proved that hard work pays off, as she finished 14th at the Two Oceans Ultra Marathon in 2016. Her first-ever first place at this race was in 2018, and again in 2019 and 2022 – the marathon was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Proving that she not only has golden feet but a heart of gold too, she pledged to donate some of her bonus money towards the development of athletes living in Muizenberg shortly after she won the Two Oceans in record time in 2022. A true example of perseverance and hard work, she also won the Comrades Marathon in 2019, and finished seventh in the London Marathon in 2020. 

Prof Francis Petersen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS, says that Gerda is an embodiment of focus and determination. “I am so proud of her. The UFS is truly the home of champions, as can be seen by the achievements of Olympic track athletes Wayde van Niekerk, Louzanne Coetzee, and champions in many other sporting codes.”

Saturday’s Two Oceans Marathon saw Ethiopian-born Amelework Fikadu Bosho finish second in the women’s race – crossing the finish line 12 minutes after Steyn – with Carla Molinaro from Britain in the third position. Approximately 10 000 athletes entered the race, starting at the Newlands Stadium and ending on the University of Cape Town's campus.

News Archive

Student receives prestigious international award for article
2008-08-07

 

Desmé Human, an honours student in Quantity Surveying at the University of the Free State’s (UFS) Department of Quantity Surveying and Construction Management, is the newest receiver of the Kenneth K. Humphreys Award. This award, which is seen as the most prestigious international award of its kind, was awarded to her for the most outstanding Quantity Surveying article submitted by a student or a young member of the International Cost Engineering Council (ICEC) for the period 2006-2008. The article, entitled: "Implementation of affirmative action and black economic empowerment in the construction industry", was judged by an international referee as an outstanding article which is worthy to be presented at an international conference. The award was handed to her at the 52nd annual meeting of the Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering (AACE) International and a world conference of the ICEC held in Toronto, Canada. Here she is with Prof. Basie Verster, departmental chairperson of the Department of Quantity Surveying and Construction Management at the UFS.
Photo: Supplied

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