UFS-Kovsies showed their metal in the long distance events while UP-Tuks once again showed their dominance in the shorter sprints as both Universities had to share the spoils in the final Varsity Athletics meet in Stellenbosch.
Akani Simbine once again proved why he is the fastest man in South Africa by claiming the honours in the 200m and anchored Tuks to victory in the 4x100m relay. Kovsies’ Wayde van Niekerk showed why he is the top 400m athlete in the country while his counterpart, Rynardt van Rensberg cruised to victory in the Mile.
400m
The men’s 400m got off to a flying start with Pukke’s Pieter Conradie and Diwan Kamoetie of Maties leading the way after the opening 200m. Conradie managed to put some distance between himself and Kamoetie and broke away from the pack as the final 100m approached. He seemed to have it all under control with 90m to go, however, Kovsies’ Wayde van Niekerk – who kept in touch with the pace setters throughout the race – ran a tactical race and kicked up a gear with 80m to go to prove why he is South Africa’s best 400m sprinter as he cruised to victory in a time of 46.08 seconds. Conradie had to settle for second place in a time of 46.83 while Jon Seeliger of UP-Tuks secured third place with a time of 47.14 seconds.
1 Mile
The mile began at a very fast tempo as the athletes jostled for position. Henry Makane (UJ), Rantso Mokopane (NWU-Pukke), Rynardt van Rensberg (UFS-Kovsies) and Llewellyn Groeneveld (Maties) were the early pace setters but Groeneveld faded as they went passed the halfway mark of the race. As the race winded down, Mokopane held a slender lead over the pack while fellow favourite, van Rensberg keept himself tucked in third spot behind Makane. Mokopane and van Rensberg went head-to-head down the home straight and it was the man from Bloemfontein who had enough in the tank to blitz the rest of the field and claim victory in a time of 4:09.21. Mokopane finished in a time of 4:09.69 to secure second spot while third spot was claimed by Anthony Timoteus as he sped his way past Makane in the final 100m to record a time of 4:10.64.
200m
UP-Tuks and South Africa’s No.1 sprinter, Akani Simbine made a massive statement in the 200m – by adding another Varsity Athletics sprint title to his belt – to prove why he is the fastest man in the country. No-one came close to the speedster as he led from start to finish to record a winning time of 21.00 seconds. Kovsies’ Gideon Trotter had to settle for second place in a time of 21.47 with UJ’s Quincy Vorster closing out the top three in 21.69 seconds.
4×100 Relay
The men’s sprint came to a dramatic conclusion with the lead in the 4x100m changing hands at every handover. Pukke got off to a blistering start in the opening 100m and had the lead at the first changeover. UWC then threw their name in the mix as they took the lead at the second changeover, however, UP-Tuks showed their class when Akani Simbine anchored them to victory in the final 100m. UWC had to settle to second place while Kovsies came agonizingly short of snatching second place but, in the end, had to settle for third.
