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09 May 2025 | Story Vuyelwa Mbebe and Onthatile Tikoe | Photo Hannes Naude
Mthi Mthimkhulu
Mthi Mthimkhulu from the University of the Free State, finishing first in the men’s 400-metre race, surpassing NWU runners-up.

The University of the Free State (UFS) athletics team secured a top five slot at the 2025 University Sports South Africa (USSA) Track and Field Championships, earning fourth place at the event, hosted at the Pilditch Stadium in Pretoria from 1 to 3 May.

University athletes from across South Africa gathered for the championships, which is a key fixture on the USSA calendar. After delivering stellar performances across a broad spectrum of events, UFS went up against 21 other participating universities in various track and field categories.

The standout female athletes at this year’s event were Gabriella Marais, Nicola Gibbon, Lizandré Mulder, and Tyla Wasmüth. Marais scored a first-place finish in the women’s 100-metre race and came second in the women’s 200-metre category. Gibbon, who participated in the women’s 400-metre category, scored third position. Mulder took third and first place in the 5 000-metre and 3 000-metre women’s steeplechase categories respectively. Wasmüth placed in the top three in the women’s shot put and discus throw.

The male athletes who stood out by grabbing first-place wins in their respective categories were Mthi Mthimkhulu in the men’s 400-metre race, Molifi Mohlomi in the men’s 800-metre race, and Wernich van Rensburg in the men’s 400-metre hurdles. Dumisani Motloung took third place in the men’s 1500-metre category, and Samkelo Dlamini took second place for the long jump field sports category.

KovsieSport’s Kesaoleboga Molotsane, UFS Sport Manager for athletics, said the UFS coaching staff need to be kept motivated, as they are the first point of contact with their sports stars. “Unlike team sports, we work with individual athletes who require different and various attention. We only need to motivate the athletes to continue working hard, to study hard, and balance out their responsibilities.” She added that individual performances and athlete placements all helped UFS achieve its overall fourth place at the USSA Championships.

Kovsies can look forward to seeing Mthi Mthimkulu at the World Athletics Relays championships, taking place in China this weekend (10 and 11 May). He’ll be representing South Africa and will be the only Kovsie attending.

Mthimkhulu, Marais, and Van Renburg have also qualified for the upcoming World University Games, to be held in Rhine-Ruhr, Germany, in July. Molotsane encouraged fellow Kovsies to support these and other UFS athletes, whose journeys reflect the spirit of Kovsie athletics.

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Junior quartet invited to master classes in the Netherlands
2011-06-14

 

The Junior Odeion String Quartet (JOSQ) from our Odeion School of Music has been honoured by being invited to participate in the Internationale Stichting Masterclass Apeldoorn in the Netherlands.

This series of master classes will be attended by 40 young musicians from across the world. The four members of the JOSQ therefore constitute 10% of the chosen participants. This achievement is even more remarkable if one considers that the JOSQ has only been in existence for a year. For a string quartet to achieve such a high international standard in such a short span of time is a clear indication of hard work, persistence, above average musicality and excellent instruction. For the latter, their instructor, Sharon de Kock, deserves all the credit, according to Mr Marius Coetzee, Manager of Innovation and Development at the Odeion School of Music.

Under the guidance of international masters like Raphael Wallfish (cello), Pascal Devoyon (piano), Philippe Graffin (violin), Ásdís Valdimarsdóttir (viola) and Charles Neidich (clarinet), the JOSQ will prepare to perform in a concert which will form part of the final phase of the master classes and which is sure to be the highlight of the course. This concert will take place in Apeldoorn’s Orpheus theatre.

 

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