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SADoCoL
Betsie Human and Elandré Williams, analysts at the South African Doping Control Laboratory (SADoCoL) at the University of the Free State (UFS), will be involved in sample preparation, analysis and data processing at the upcoming Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris, France.

Two staff members from the South African Doping Control Laboratory (SADoCoL) which is housed at the University of the Free State (UFS), have been selected to work at the upcoming Olympic and Paralympic Games, in Paris, France.

Elandré Williams and Betsie Human will support the Paris laboratory during both games. The Olympic Games will take place from 26 July to 11 August 2024 and the Paralympic Games from 28 August to 8 September 2024.

Williams will be involved in steroid profile analysis, which includes sample preparation, analysis and data processing by Gas Chromatography (GC) and Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry (GC-C-IRMS).

Part of the fight against doping 

“I am excited, optimistic and privileged to have been given this opportunity, but I have to say that I am also quite nervous as this is most probably the biggest sporting event of the year. Being a part of the fight against doping in sport remains a great responsibility as what we do directly impacts the athletes,” says Williams.

She says is looking forward to the entire experience, from doing what she loves on an international level, meeting other analysts in the field and being part of the fight against doping in sport on an Olympic level.

This is her first big international sporting event.

“I am also looking forward to learning from other experts in the field who have more experience and to witness the procedures and the manner in which the laboratory operates at this time where the sample numbers are extremely high with the added pressure to finalise results in short turn-around times. This is a great opportunity for growth, both individually and in my field of expertise, in the scientific and the doping control field.

“It will definitely be an advantage for me as an analyst to get exposure to how the entire analytical procedure is executed in another laboratory, as well as insight into possible new techniques and advancements that I will be able to apply back at SADoCoL. I also think this is a great way to improve my ideas, perspectives and level of expertise as I will be working and witnessing other scientific experts in the doping control field.”

Managing workflow and logistics at the Games

Human, who was an analyst at the 2010 Soccer World Cup in South Africa, says she is both nervous and excited for this experience. 

“I was a junior analyst at SADoCoL during the 2010 Soccer World Cup, but you cannot compare a single-sport discipline with a multisport discipline like the Olympic Games – The Games will be exponentially bigger.

“In the past 14 years doping control as a whole has grown significantly. New technologies, updated requirements, more sensitive testing methods have emerged – this will be a new experience,” says Human.

She will also be involved with sample preparation/analysis/data processing and says she is looking forward to seeing how the work-flow and logistics associated with the Games (massive amounts of samples/tight deadlines etc) is managed in a high through-put laboratory.

“I am of course also looking forward to meeting analysts from other labs – we are a bit secluded here at the southern tip of Africa. Collaboration between labs is tricky when your closest neighbour is in Europe.

“It is always eye-opening to see how other labs manage similar situations (even though an Olympics is quite different from normal routine days) – exposure to new techniques and alternative thinking has a way of elevating your own thought processes and it promotes growth – both as an individual and as a doping control analyst.”

Immensely proud

Hanno du Preez, Director of SADoCoL, says the laboratory personnel are immensely proud that two of their staff members were chosen to participate in this international event, which for many scientists is the peak of their career. Similarly, this provides acknowledgement to the staff members for the area in which they have been working.

“It is only a select few who are requested to provide service at the Olympic Games. The work conducted in an Olympic laboratory provides experience which cannot be gained elsewhere. The workload and fast-paced analysis is something which the personnel are used to, but the Olympics will bring a different dimension to the processes. 

“We are excited to see what Betsie and Elandré bring back, with regards to new viewpoints on processes which are similar in all anti-doping laboratories. Individual experiences uplift everyone in a regulated business unit such as SADoCoL and also ensures improved relationships between laboratories, as other anti-doping laboratories will be represented at the Games as well. We wish them all the best for the experience, and we thank them for being dedicated ambassadors for SADoCoL and the UFS.”

News Archive

Moshoeshoe - lessons from an African icon - by Prof Frederick Fourie
2004-11-03

(The full text of the article that appeared in City Press and Sunday Independent)

Our understanding of history informs our understanding of the present. No wonder the contestation over historical figures in South Africa’s past is so fierce and so divisive.
The question is: could it be any other way? I would like to think that it could; that black and white South Africans, across linguistic, cultural, religious and other divides, can develop a shared appreciation of our history – at least with certain periods and personalities as a starting point.

One such personality whose legacy I believe offers a possible platform for unifying our still divided country is King Moshoeshoe, who lived from 1786 to 1870, and is acknowledged as the founder of the Basotho.

King Moshoeshoe is the topic of a documentary that has been commissioned by the University of the Free State as part of its Centenary celebrations this year. It is part of a larger project to honour and research the legacy of Moshoeshoe. The documentary will be screened on SABC 2 at 21:00 on November 4th.

Moshoeshoe rose to prominence at a time of great upheaval and conflict in South Africa – the 19th century, a time when British colonialism was entrenching itself, when the Boer trekkers were migrating from the Cape and when numerous indigenous chiefdoms and groupings were engaged in territorial conquests. It was the time of the Difaqane, a period when society in the central parts of the later South Africa and Lesotho was fractured, destabilised and caught in a cycle of violence and aggression.

In this period Moshoeshoe displayed a unique and innovative model of leadership that resulted in reconciliation, peace and stability in the area that later became Lesotho and Free State. It made him stand out from many of his contemporaries and also caught the attention of his colonial adversaries.

Such an evaluation is not a judgment about which model of leadership is right and which is wrong, or which leader was better than another; but merely an attempt to explore what we can learn from a particular exemplar.
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Historians point to the many progressive leadership qualities displayed by Moshoeshoe which he used effectively in establishing the Basotho nation and in defending it.
First, there is his humanism and sense of justice worthy of any great statesman. Confronted by a situation in which cannibals murdered and devoured his grandfather, Moshoeshoe chose not to take revenge. Instead he opted to rehabilitate them and feed them as he believed hunger drove them to cannibalism.

Secondly, there is his skilful alliance-building with his contemporaries such as Shaka in an attempt to neutralize those rivals who were intent on attacking his followers. This is also displayed in the way he sought the protection of the British to keep the Boer forces at bay.
Thirdly, his emphasis on peaceful options is also seen in his defensive military strategy which saw him retreat to a mountain fortress to be able to protect and build a burgeoning nation in the face of the many forces threatening its survival.

Fourthly, there is his remarkable inclusivity and tolerance for diversity which saw him unite disparate groups of refugees from the violence and hunger that displaced them and then weld them into the Basotho nation. He also engaged with French missionaries, inviting them to stay with him and advise him on Western thought, technology and religion.
These are but some of the qualities which belie the notion that all 19th century African leaders were merely marauders and conquerors that gained their ascendancy through violence. Instead Moshoeshoe is a prime example of the human-centred, democratic and pluralist roots of South African, indeed African society.

The Moshoeshoe project that we have initiated (of which the documentary, called “The Renaissance King”, forms but one part) derives from our location as a university in the Free State, a province with a particular history and a particular political culture that developed as a result of this very model of leadership. This province has benefited tremendously from leaders such as Moshoeshoe and president MT Steyn, both of whom many observers credit with establishing a climate of tolerance, respect for diversity of opinion, political accommodation and peaceful methods of pursuing political objectives in the province. Their legacy is real – and Moshoeshoe’s role can not be overstated.
In addition the project derives from the University of the Free State being a site of higher learning in a broader geo-political sense. As a university in Africa we are called upon to understand and critically engage with this history, this context and this legacy.
Besides the documentary, the UFS is also planning to establish an annual Moshoeshoe memorial lecture which will focus on and interrogate models of African leadership, nation-building, reconciliation, diversity management and political tolerance.

In tackling such projects, there may be a temptation to engage in myth-making. It is a trap we must be wary of, especially as an institution of higher learning. We need to ask critical questions about some aspects of Moshoeshoe’s leadership but of current political leadership as well. Thus there is a need for rigorous academic research into aspects of the Moshoeshoe legacy in particular but also into these above-mentioned issues.
While the documentary was commissioned to coincide with the University of the Free State’s centenary and our country’s ten years of democracy, it is a project that has a much wider significance. It is an attempt to get people talking about our past and about our future, as a campus, as a province and as a country – even as a continent, given the NEPAD initiatives to promote democracy and good governance.

The project therefore has particular relevance for the continued transformation of institutions such as universities and the transformation of our society. Hopefully it will assist those who are confronted by the question how to bring about new institutional cultures or even a national political culture that is truly inclusive, tolerant, democratic, non-sexist, non-racial, multilingual and multicultural.

I believe that the Moshoeshoe model of leadership can be emulated and provide some point of convergence. A fractured society such as ours needs points of convergence, icons and heroes which we can share. Moshoeshoe is one such an African icon – in a world with too few of them.

Prof Frederick Fourie is the Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the University of the Free State

* The documentary on “Moshoeshoe: The Renaissance King” will be screened on SABC2 on 4 November 2004 at 21:00.

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