VUT hosts the 2018 USSA Track and Field Championships

Koketso Mogapi running the first leg of the relay; an athlete pole vaulting in the finals.

Staff reporter

A successful hosting of the University Sport South Africa (USSA) Track and Field championships has come to pass. The event has held at the DP de Villiers Stadium, Sasolburg, on 27 – 29 April. In attendance was:

Central University of Technology Welkom (CUT), Durban University of Technology (DUT), University of Fort Hare (UFH), University of the Free State (UFS), University of kwazulu Natal (UKZN), University of Limpopo (UL), Mangosuthu University of Technology (MUT), Nelson Mandela University (NMU), North West University Potchefstroom (NWU Potch), University of Pretoria (UP), Sol Plaatjie University (SPU), Stellenbosch University (SU), Tshwane University of Technology (TUT), University of Cape Town (UCT), University of Johannesburg (UJ), Vaal University of Technology (VUT), Varsity College (VC), Walter Sisulu University (WSU), University of the Western Cape (UWC) and University of Zululand (UniZulu).

This was the biggest event to be hosted by VUT. The USSA championships is the third biggest university sports event in South Africa on the sports calendar across all sporting codes, only to be surpassed by the South African Championships and Varsity Sport Championships. DP de Villiers Stadium was chosen as the event venue for its tartan track (running track for athletics) and world class infield for the field events. Several Olympians competed at the event, the biggest of them being Caster Semenya who won the women’s 400m in a time of 50.48s.

VUT’s athletes competed well given the magnitude of the event and the stiff competition presented by SA champions and Varsity champions. Koketso Mogapi (VUT) came 5^th in the men’s long jump finals with a distance of 7.23m and Itumeleng Dikoko (VUT) coming in at 7^th place in the men’s triple jump finals with a leap of 15.20m. VUT’s 4 x 100m relay team came in at 8^th place with a time of 42.27s. To our surprise UP-TUKS, the 2018 Varsity champions did not win the event nor place in the top 3. The championship was won by NWU-Potch with UJ coming in at second and UFS claiming the third spot.

The Sports and Recreation Department would like to thank Mr. Diale for his tireless work in ensuring that the event is hosted as well as his assistant, Thabiso Mokoena. The 2019 USSA Track and Field Championships will take place in Durban.