A total of 11 athletes and coaches with ties to the University of the Free State (UFS) feature in seven different sporting codes at the 2022 Commonwealth Games underway in Birmingham, England.
Ten represent South Africa and are part of the 251 strongathletes team representing the country. One represents Lesotho at the games that officially commenced on Thursday (28/07), willending on Monday.
They are: Anneke Bosch (women’s T20 cricket), Shindré-Lee Simmons (women’s hockey), Khanyisa Chawane, Lefébre Rademan (both netball), Neil Powell (rugby sevens coach), Yolandi Stander (the discus; athletics), Jovan van Vuuren (the long jump; athletics), Robert Summers, Caden Kakora (both badminton) and Elmien Viljoen (karate). The UFS triple jumper Lerato Sechele is also the secretary of the Lesotho Athletes Commission.
Simmons, Rademan, Stander, Summers and Kakora are currently with the varsity, while Bosch, Chawane, Powell and Van Vuuren are former Kovsies.
Simmons also recently represented South Africa at the FIH Women’s Hockey World Cup.
The first-year Kovsie student Viljoen will again be Birmingham to compete in the Commonwealth Karate Championship, set to take place in Birmingham on 7 and 8 September.
Maryka Holtzhausen, acting director of KovsieSport, has described the journey of UFS sportsmen and sportswomenathletes at the Commonwealth Games with admiration. She said the UFS was very proud of the current and former ambassadors who are flying their national flag at the showpiece in Birmingham.
A proud Holtzhausen said their achievements also bring a future responsibility.“It creates a sense of pride within the UFS community, but also instils a new responsibility to continue to strive for excellence and create opportunities to increase the UFS’s contribution on the highest levels.”
According to the former Protea netball captain, who represented South Africa in three Commonwealth Games, the power of sport is clearly visible at such an event. Holtzhausen represented South Africa at the 2010 games in Delhi, in Glasgow in 2014, and in the Gold Coast in 2018.
“The Commonwealth Games eliminates all kinds of boundaries in South Africa, even between sporting codes. It brings Team South Africa together: athletes, team officials, supporters, and spectators unite in their love and passion for sport.”
