An excellent sports trivia question to ask anybody who is interested in athletics, especially since it is TuksAthletics’ centenary year, is what the common denominator in South Africa's 400m-hurdles success is?
Since 1992 the country's athletes have won seven medals at the Olympic Games, World Championships and the Commonwealth Games.
Llewellyn Herbert, LJ van Zyl, Alwyn Myburgh and Cornel Fredericks were not just skilled fast hurdlers; there is something else that links their success. The answer to the trivia question is simple, they all represented Tuks.
Ok given Herbert was not a Tuks athlete when he won a bronze medal at the Olympic Games and silver at the World Championships but he did end his career being a Tuks athlete.
But the other three were "full-blooded" Tukkies when they medalled.
It won't be wrong to claim that South Africa's hurdling success was started by Gert Potgieter when he won the gold medal in the 440 yards hurdles at the Empire (now Commonwealth) Games in Cardiff in 1958.
Van Zyl for one has no hesitation in admitting that as a youngster he was inspired by listening and reading about Potgieter's heroics on the track.
Although Potgieter performed his hurdling feats while being in the South African Police Force, he does have a link with Tuks. He worked for years as a sports manager at the university.
What is equally impressive is the fact that four of the five fastest ever South African hurdlers are Tuks athletes. Van Zyl tops the all-time list with a personal best time of 47.66s, followed by Herbert whose best time is 47.81s. Myburgh who ran 48.09s is the fourth fastest with Fredericks slotting in at fifth with a best time of 48.14s.
Just out of interest. Ockert Cilliers (Northwest Pukke) whose best time is 48.02s is the third fastest South African 400m-hurdler.
Fans of sports trivia might appreciate knowing the role Hennie Kotze in this success. Van Zyl, Myburgh and Fredericks were all coached by him.
Kotze can rightly claim to be the coach that helps athletes fulfil their dreams, but it is not in his nature to do so. He claims just to have been lucky to have had the opportunity to coach talented athletes.
Even so. Any athlete will admit that talent alone can take you only so far. To become a champion, you need a coach who has the technical knowledge to fine-tune natural ability into art and help an athlete to believe in their skills.
Kotze helped Van Zyl to win the 400m-hurdles at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne. Myburgh finished second in the same race. He also coached Van Zyl to win bronze at the 2011 World Championships in Daegu and a silver medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New-Delhi. Another highlight was helping Fredericks to win at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
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