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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.

News Archive

Soetdoring/Kagiso pair-up wins 2015 Stagedoor
2015-03-03

With a new format and residences mixing it up, the 2015 Stagedoor proved to be a success yet again, leaving Soetdoring and Kagiso with the spoils of victory.

Stagedoor (the annual first-year residence stage and serenade competition) saw a change of format this year where residences were combined to perform in a few number of outdoor venues for rotations.

Prior to this, Residence CoRC Cultures expressed much concern regarding the co-operation that might (or might not) be achieved with working with other residences. These were all early stage fears. However, as their preparations progressed there seemed to be a glint of light at the end of many groups’ tunnels.

Seven diverse and combined groups made it through to final, namely;

• Vishuis and Tswelopele,
• Karee and Armentum,
• Sonnedou and NJ van der Merwe,
• Soetdoring and Kagiso,
• Roosmaryn and Vergeert-My-Nie,
• Villa Bravado and Madelief, and
• and Veritas and Marjolein.

The finals proved that the efforts and sleepless nights of RC Cultures, first-years, composers, and other behind-the-scenes contributors can really make any situation work.

As always, the crowd was blown away by the musical and vocal talent of first-years, as some compositions gave the audience goose bumps, leaving them asking for more. All in all, the evening created a frenzy, causing residences to interact whereas they would have never done so before.

According to the Student Affairs’ Arts and Culture office, the aim behind the new format was to break the barriers between residences. Arts and Culture were also pleased as to with how the RCs worked around accommodating their partners and ensuring maximum co-operation, despite some challenges.

As the night neared its closeclosing, residences were chanting their names and showing their pride in their first years’ performances.

2015 Stagedoor final results:

1. Soetdoring and Kagiso
2. Roosmaryn and Vergeet-My-Nie
3. Vishuis and Tswelopele

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