Team South Africa is performing phenomenally well at the FISU World University Games in China – The team has already earned eight medals!
Chengdu, China (04 August 2023) – The FISU World University Games are underway and team South Africa is flying that flag high, already earning a few medals and big wins!
The FISU World University Games are staged every two years in a different city. This celebration of international university sports and culture draws many thousands of student-athletes together to compete, making it among the world’s largest and most prestigious multi-sport events.
This year the games are being hosted in China and they run for a total of twelve days. The games are running from the 28th of July to the 8th of August 2023.
Team South Africa is there and already, we have some wins to celebrate!
Christian de Klerk won the first medal for TeamSA, with a second-place finish in the Men-Compound in Archery.
“I never thought I would achieve something like this. I attended the previous one where I finished 7th, my only goal here was to finish better than 7th but finishing second is a bit unreal.” – Christian de Klerk shared with aipsmedia
25-year-old Erin Gallagher broke the 50m women’s butterfly SA and FISU world record, which has stood since 2005 in Gwangju by a split second. She was able to soak in the glory for all of 30 seconds and then Zhang Yufei swam and broke her record with a time of 25.29.
It didn’t take too long though, for Erin to add a medal to the tally. She earned a silver in the 50m butterfly final. She also went on to break her record and set a new South African record time of 25.66!
Shaun Maswanganyi earned a sliver in the 100m with a time of 10.06. Having only recently got back on the track, this was a big accomplishment for the athlete.
Charne Swart earned the Women’s 800m bronze for the team and a short while later, Marlie Viljoen becomes the FIRST gold medalist for South Africa at the FISU World University Games.
Kaylene Corbett added a silver medal to the tally with her stellar performance in the 100m women’s breaststroke! Erin Gallagher then added a second silver to her count and upped the total for Team SA with another swimming success.
Javelin thrower Jana Van Schalkwyk set a new Personal Best and threw for a bronze medal in her event.
There are a few more events on the cards so the chances of adding to the medal count are still high. We have every faith in the team. Best of luck to you all.
It is worth also noting that not only is Team South Africa present, but talented sports photographer Skhu Nkomphela has joined the team to take all the incredible photos you are seeing above. He shared his excitement in 2020 when he got his official letter from FISU to be an accredited photographer at the event.
“Never in my dreams have I ever thought a boy from the rural, Cofimvaba would lead on the World stage… I’ll forever be humble and greatful to serve”
Stay tuned to Team SA here for more on our amazing athletes.
by 