Getting athletes to peak at the right time and perform to the best of their ability is an art the coaches of Tuks have seemingly mastered to perfection.
A quick glance at any team lists for the South African teams competing at the Olympic Games, World Championships and Commonwealth Games is proof. There will be Tuks athletes competing. And they are not only making up the numbers. It is guaranteed that one or more will win a medal or even set a record. The results from 2012 will show it.
So it would be exciting to see what happens when the Tuks athletes compete at the Summer World University Games in Chengdu, China (28 July-8 August). USSA selected a team of 175 athletes and coaches for the event. No less than 53 are from Tuks.
During the 2015 University Games in Korea, Akani Simbine, a Tuks student at the time, set his first South African senior record when he won the 100 metres in 9.97s.
That was the confidence booster he needed. Since then, he has improved the SA record over 100 metres to 9.84s. Won gold and silver at the Commonwealth Games. Competed in two Olympic Games finals as well as five times at the World Champs finals. Up to now, he has also dipped 36 times under 10 seconds in the 100 metres.
Tatjana Schoenmaker is another Tuks Alumni whose first major international breakthrough happened at the University Games. It was in 2017 in Taipei when she won silver in the 200m breaststroke in a time of 2:24.61.
After that, there has been no stopping her. She won gold at the Tokyo Olympic Games in the 200m breaststroke (2:18.95) and silver in the 100m breaststroke. Schoenmaker has also won a silver in the 200m breaststroke at the 2019 World Champs, three gold medals and silver at the 2018 and 2022 Commonwealth Games, and two gold medals at the 2019 University Games.
This time around, in Chengdu, Kaylene Corbett (200m breaststroke), Erin Gallagher (50m and 100m butterfly), Michaela Whitebooi and Charne Griesel (judo) are the Tuks athletes with a real chance of medalling.
Since 2018 Corbett has consistently been qualifying to swim finals at the World Champs, Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games and the University Games. Last year she won bronze during the Birmingham Commonwealth Games. Corbett will medal if she swims close to her best time of 2:22.06 in the 200m-breaststroke.
Gallagher won a silver in the 50m butterfly during last year’s Commonwealth Games. During the South African Championships this year, she qualified for the World Champs swimming 26.31s in the 50m-butterfly and 57.84s in the 100-metre butterfly.
According to TuksSwim’s head coach, Rocco Meiring, Gallagher is starting to swim the times she did a few years back.
Whitebooi is the women’s Commonwealth Games judo champion in the under-48kg category, while Griesel has won bronze in the under-52kg category.
The Tuks athletes and coaches who will be at the University Games are:
Archery: Christiaan de Klerk and Wian Roux. Gerda Rou is the team manager.
Basketball (men): Allan Mametja and Nhlanhla Vela.
Artistic Gymnastics: Ruan Lange and Lisa Conradie. Louis Fourie is the coach.
Judo: Michaela Whitebooi, Charne Griesel, Done Breytenbach, Thomas Breytenbach, Timothy Meuwsen. Ilze Wicksell is the manager and Nikola Filipov the coach.
Swimming: Andrew Ross, Benjamin Platter, Matthew Randle, Cameron Casali, Erin Gallagher, Hannah Pearse, Inge Weideman, Kaylene Corbett, Kerryn Herbst, Kristin Bellingan, Catherine van Rensburg, Kate Meyer, Tayla Jonker and Lizanne Viljoen. Keenan Riffel is an assistant coach.
Rowing: Jordan Craig, Ross le Maitre, Sebastiaan Ringrose, Phumelele Tshabalala, Chloe Cresswell and Courtney Westley. Christopher Millendorf is the coach.
Waterpolo (women): Olachi McMurray, Kiara Schutte, Jenna Weppelman. Anele Malukane is an assistant coach.
Athletics: Edmund du Plesis, Kwazi Nogcantsi, Brian Raats, Collins Kgadimo, Thembo Monareng, Eckart Potgieter, Marli Viljoen, Charne Swart, Karabo Mailula and Michaela Oosthuizen. Ilze Wicksell is the middle-distance coach.
Tennis (women): Marine Vos. Makgotso Thobejane is the manager, and Kayla Yelverton is an assistant coach.