Cycling
TuksCycling won silver and bronze at the 2017 Varsity Sports MTB race. In the men’s division, the UP-Tuks pair of William Mokgopo and Felix Manke finished third after the Maties team who came second. UCT attained first place with a cumulative time of 2 hours, 33 minutes and 21 seconds.
Over the two days, Michelle Benson and Melanie Roux finished racing in a time of 6 hours and 49 seconds in the women’s division. Frankie du Toit and Nicky Gilliomee of Maties catapulted their team to first place, claiming the title for a second consecutive year with a time of 5 hours, 49 minutes and 5 seconds.
Judo
At the USSA Judo Tournament games held at the LC de Villiers Sports Campus between 14 and 17 September, TuksJudo won gold. This was an impressive feat which the team had only attained twice before in 2009 and 2015. The team won 13 gold medals, 3 silver medals and one bronze medal at the 2017 event.
Rowing
TuksRowing emerged as the overall champions at the South African Universities Rowing Champions. The team had the best combined results in the USSA Sprint Rowing, Indoor Rowing and Boat Race.
The USSA Boat Race is an annual event which takes place in Port Alfred. This year, it ran on for two days in early September where the UP-Tuks team dominated. They won three of the four eight crew finals which were held on the Kowie River in Port Alfred.
Kirsten McCann made history by becoming the first South African woman to win gold at a rowing world championship at the World Rowing Championships held in Sarasota, USA, where McCann crossed the finish line in 7 minutes and 38.78 seconds. McCann competed in the lightweight women’s single sculls which spans 2000 metres.
Image: Michal-Maré Linden
