Going for gold will have to be the only goal for the Tuks athletes competing at the USSA Championships in Stellenbosch this weekend.

 As the medal tally is used to determine team positions in USSA athletics, it is not at all about fast times or vast distances. All that matters is winning. To be crowned USSA Champions the Tuks athletes need to win as many medals as possible, preferably gold. Last year Tuks only managed to finish fifth.

 Judging by performances, this season Tuks should dominate the men’s and women’s 400m-hurdles maybe winning four maybe even five medals.

 It is safe to predict that the Youth and Junior World Champion, Zeney van der Walt, will win the women’s race with Gezelle Magerman finishing second.

 The men’s race, however, could be exciting. From a statistical perspective, Zokwakhana Zazini who is also a double world youth and junior champion should win the men’s race. He has been improving steadily throughout the season. During the recent South African Junior Championships, he won the 400m-hurdles in 50.72s. Having to change coaches means he is still working at being his best.

 The Tuks final year physiotherapy student, Constant Pretorius, who is competing in his first 400m-hurdles race for the season could be the one to beat Zazini. His training times indicate that he is capable of putting a good race together over the ten hurdles. How fast however remains to be seen. Pretorius hinted that if he is on form, he might dip under 50 seconds. His personal best is 49.28s compared to Zanini's best of 49.32s.

 Petrus Steenekamp (Tuks) could be third in the men’s 400m-hurdles race.

Judging by the straightforward manner in which Theuns Ehlers (Tuks) won both the 800m races during the Varsity Athletics he should be a medal contender over the weekend, especially if the race comes down to a sprint over the last 200 metres. Ehlers boasts with a fantastic ability to accelerate towards the end.

Niene Muller who also dominated during the Varsity Athletics by winning both 800m races, can certainly add to Tuks’s medal tally over the weekend. Ilze Wicksell (coach) said what excites her about Muller is her mental fortitude. A real fighter is how Wicksell summarises Muller’s running abilities.

 The 100 metres for men could be a definite highlight. Chederick van Wyk’s speedy exploits were instrumental in ensuring that North West took the Varsity Athletics title. At the meeting in Potchefstroom, he clocked 10.23s which is one of the fastest times this season.

 He will undoubtedly be challenged by Emile Erasmus who became South Africa’s sixth fastest sprinter of all time by running 10.01s last year. The Tuks sprinter had to overcome a slight injury in the build-up to USSA’s, but that seems to be something of the past.

 Shaahid Motala could be the proverbial “wild card” in the men’s 100m. During the first Varsity Athletics Meeting in Stellenbosch, he caused quite a stir when the stopwatch showed he ran 10.03s. However, due to timekeeping technicalities, his time was not official. But he set a personal best time of 10.34s during a league meeting at Tuks. Motala truly believes he is capable of going faster.  Since his Stellenbosch outing, he has been sidelined with a hamstring injury.