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24 September 2024 | Story Aimée Barlow | Photo Supplied
Louzanne Coetzee - 2024
Louzanne Coetzee, who made history by clinching South Africa’s second medal at the Paralympics, earning a bronze in the T11 1 500 m women’s final with a personal best time, received a warm reception when she recently returned home.

The celebrated Paralympic bronze medallist Louzanne Coetzee returned home to a warm welcome at the Bram Fischer International Airport on 10 September 2024.

Family, friends, colleagues, Arista students, and media gathered to celebrate her remarkable achievement and show their support.

Coetzee – KovsieSport Coordinator of Parasport at the University of the Free State (UFS) – made history by clinching South Africa’s second medal at the Paralympics, earning a bronze in the T11 1 500 m women’s final with a personal best time. Her dedication and hard work have not only brought her personal glory but have also inspired many in her community.

Among those present to welcome her was Jerry Laka, Director of KovsieSport, who expressed his pride in Coetzee’s accomplishments.

"We as KovsieSport are so proud of our colleague Coetzee. It is amazing to see a product of KovsieSport achieving greatness on the world stage. She is truly an inspiration to us all," said Laka.

“I am so glad to be back, and to have Laka and my colleagues here. It means the world to me. Having Laka here shows his commitment to my career and ParaSport and his staff in general,” shared Coetzee, her gratitude evident.

She further expressed her appreciation for the support she received, stating, “I don’t have the words to describe how thankful I am for the support from the UFS community.”

Coetzee’s return is a proud moment for South Africa and the University of the Free State (UFS) community. Welcome home, Louzanne! Your achievements have made us all proud!

News Archive

Children’s author donates material for research
2012-04-04

 

Department of Afrikaans and Dutch, German and French receives more than 70 books, manuscripts and translations from Kovsie alumnus Jaco Jacobs.  
Photo: Stephen Collett
4 April 2012

The well-known children’s author and former Kovsie, Jaco Jacobs, donated more than 70 of his books, manuscripts and translations to the University of the Free State. The work will be included in the authors’ room of the Department of Afrikaans and Dutch, German and French on the ground floor of the UFS Sasol Library.

Mr. Jacobs is an award-winning author who also worked as editor of Volksblad’s youth supplement, Jip. He received the degree B.A. (Communication Science) cum laude from our university. He has been awarded, amongst others, the Alba Bouwer Prize, C.P. Hoogenhout Award, MML Prize for Literature, Elsabé Steenberg Award and eight ATKV children’s book awards.

Mr Jacobs says he hopes the donations will provide insight into the writing process. “It would be wonderful if someone could do research because youth literature is not a genre that receives a lot of attention.”

Prof. Hennie van Coller, Head of the Department of Afrikaans and Dutch, German and French, says the donation is very valuable in terms of research. He says in other parts of the world, a lot of money is paid for this type of work.

 

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