#TuksAthletics: Semenya and Van Zyl are TuksAthletics Centenary heroes

Posted on November 01, 2018

Mr Toby Sutcliffe, Prof Cheryl de la Rey, LJ van Zyl & Caster Semenya (Tuks Athletes of the Century), Minister Thokozile Xasa and Mr Alec Skhosana  (Photo Credit:  Reg Caldecott)


100 years of excellence was capped last night with the announcement that Caster Semenya and LJ van Zyl are the Tuks Athletes of the Century.

Not that it was an easy decision because since 1918 hardly a year has gone by without at least one or more Tuks athletes pushing the boundaries to set new challenges for others to strive towards.

Van Zyl got the nod as being the best because he has been one of South Africa’s most prolific international medal winners since 1992. 

He was a junior 400m-hurdles world champion in 2002, won a gold medal at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, silver at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, bronze at the 2011 World Championships in Daegu. He also helped South Africa to win a silver medal in the 4x400m-relay at the 2006 Games as well as during the 2011 Worlds.

Still, that is not all. Van Zyl is also the first athlete to set a South African record on the Tuks track. He did so on 25 February 2011 winning in 47.66s. 2011 was undoubtedly the pinnacle of Van Zyl's hurdling career. In the space of just 95 days, he managed to break through the magical 48 seconds barrier on four occasions clocking the four fastest times of the year. 

In an honest assessment of his running abilities, Van Zyl admits that running 47.50s would probably have been the ultimate race for him. 

What makes all of Van Zyl’s achievements remarkable is that he was diagnosed as having polio when only three years old. He is of the opinion that starting to run and hurdle played a significant role in helping him to overcome polio. 

Semenya’s performance in the 800 metres speaks for itself. Up to now, she has won gold medals in 2012 as well as 2016 during the Olympic Games; three gold medals at the World Championships (2009, 2011 and 2017). She has also won a bronze medal in the 1 500m during the 2017 IAAF Championships. Another highlight was winning gold medals in the 800m and 1 500m at this year’s Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. 

Her best 800m time of 1:54.25 places her fourth on the IAAF all-time list. Her success story started when as a shy young athlete from Limpopo she joined TuksAthletics in 2009. 

Over the last ten years, Semenya certainly defied all obstacles that were thrown her way while being true to her roots.

The other Tuks athletes to receive awards are: 

Centenary Honourable Recognition Award – June Mackenzie
Male Athlete of the Year Award  - Akani Simbine Female Athlete of the Year Award – Carina Horn

Junior Male Athlete of the Year Award – Sokwakana Zazini Junior Female Athlete of the Year Award - Yvonne Robson

Most promising Male Athlete of the Year Award
Thembo Monareng

Most Promising Female Athlete of the Year Award
Prudence Sekgodisa

 

- Author Wilhelm de Swardt

Copyright © University of Pretoria 2024. All rights reserved.

COVID-19 Corona Virus South African Resource Portal

To contact the University during the COVID-19 lockdown, please send an email to [email protected]

FAQ's Email Us Virtual Campus Share Cookie Preferences