‘When you chase perfection, you catch excellence’ is the principle by which the athletes and coaches at TuksSport stand. 
              
Judging by the results, they are succeeding. So far, 24 Tuks athletes and five coaches and one referee have been selected to represent South Africa at the Tokyo Games. At least three more athletes and one coach could be named next week when the final team selection is announced. 

Tuks's athletes got a proud tradition when it comes to competing at the Olympics. During the 2012 London Olympic Games and the 2016 Rio Olympics, Tuks's athletes won six medals (2 gold, 3 silver and 1 bronze). It equates to 40% of the medals won by South Africa's athletes. There is a real chance that one or two Tuks athletes could medal in Tokyo.

Tatjana Schoenmaker is a definite medal contender.  In April, during the Olympic trials in Gqerberha, Schoenmaker won the 200m-breaststroke in 2:20.17. It is one of the seventh-fastest times ever. She also set Africa records in the 50m-breaststroke (30:32) and the 100m-breaststroke (1:05.74). 

It is interesting to note that Schoenmaker has medalled at each major international championship over the last four years. During the 2017 World Student Games, she won a silver medal in the 200m-breaststroke; at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, she won two gold medals (100 and 200m breaststroke. She repeated the feat during the 2019 World Student Games. That same year, Schoenmaker also won silver at the World Championships. 

Some predict that the USA's sprinters can win all three medals in the 100 metres during the Tokyo Olympic Games. The last time that happened was during the 1912 Stockholm Games. 

The statistics certainly favour the Americans to dominate the short sprint. Trayon Bromell is so far the fastest, having run 9.77s this season. Ronny Baker clocked 9.85s and Fred Fred Kerley 9.86s. 

Tuks's Gift Leotlela clocked 9.94s, which ranks him as one of the eight fastest sprinters in the world this season. 

But the man that should worry the Americans is Tuks's Akani Simbine, even though his best time so far is 9.99s.  It should, however, be remembered that he ran against a 3m/s headwind. Simbine is, without a doubt, a man on the mission. During the 2016 Olympics, he finished 5th in the final. He was fourth in the final during the 2019 Doha World Championships. Over the last four years, Simbine has outsprinted most of the world's best sprinters at least once. 

South Africa's 4x100m relay team and 4x400m relay teams qualified to compete in Tokyo. There is a real chance that six or more of the relay athletes will be from Tuks. The team that won gold at the World Relays Championships was Simbine, Leotlela, Munyai and Thando Dlodlo. They are all Tuks athletes.

South Africa's rowers, which are all based at Tuks, got a proud tradition. During the 2012 London Games, the "Oarsome Foursome" won gold while Lawrence Brittain and Shaun Keeling teamed up to win silver in the men's pairs at the Rio Games. 

Brittain does not mince words about what it took to prepare for the Games.

"It can be brutal! Some days when you could not believe when you woke up in the morning, you had to go training.  All you wanted to do was sleep nonstop for three days, but you got up and went training because you had that dream of winning an Olympic medal."

The Tuks athletes selected for the Tokyo Olympic Games are:

Athletics: Akani Simbine (100 metres), Gift Leotlela (100 metres), Clarence Munyai (200 metres), Wayne Snyman (20km-race walk), Kyle Blignaut (shot put), Wenda Nel (400m-hurdles). Marc Mundell (50km race-walk) is a Tuks Alumni. Shaun Maswanganyi (100m) is a former Tuks junior athlete. 

Swimming: Tatjana Schoenmaker (200m-breaststroke), Kaylene Corbett (200m-breaststroke) and Pieter Coetze (100m-backstroke).

Rowing: John Smith, Lawrence Brittain, Kyle Schoonbee and Sandro Torrente (men's coxless fours); Jake Green and Luc Daffarn (men's coxless pairs). 

Hockey -women: Edith Molikoe, Onthatile Zulu and Lerato Mohale. Marizen Marais is the travelling reserve. Men: Nqobile Ntuli, Samkelo Mvimbi and Nduduzo Lembethe. Matthew Guise-Brown and Phumelela Mbande (are Tuks Alumni).

Coaches: Paul Gorries and Irma Reyneke (athletics); Lindsey Parry (triathlon); Nkuliso Zondi and Siphesihle Ntuli (hockey). 

Fencing: Andrei Kovrijnykh (referee).