Many things might have gone unseen during the Covid-19 pandemic and therefore it is even more important to honour sport stars who showed true resilience during tough times.
This is according to the Paralympic star Louzanne Coetzee, who was the guest speaker at a special KovsieSport Awards function on Tuesday (17 May 2022). The theme of the function was “Honouring the Brave”.
Coetzee, who won a silver and bronze medal at the Paralympic Games in 2021, encouraged athletes from the University of the Free State (UFS) to keep on inspiring others.
The UFS honoured eight stars who managed to still take part on an international level from 2019 to 2021.
Those honoured were Khanyisa Chawane (Proteas), Bianca de Wee (SA U21), Sne Mdletshe (SA U21; Proteas), Refiloe Nketsa (Proteas), Lefébre Rademan (Proteas), Rolene Streutker (SA U21), Chanel Vrey (SA U21; all netball) and Robert Summers (SA Team; badminton).
Coetzee and her guides, Claus Kempen and Estean Badenhorst, received a special award for their Paralympic achievements. “The fact that our athletes and KovsieSport managed to be resilient and still have achievements to celebrate, is really great. And the fact that we celebrate them, is important,” Coetzee said.
DB Prinsloo, former Director of KovsieSport, said he is immensely proud of the UFS students, their coaches and his sport managers. “To have such a function, you need achievements. If you don’t have somebody that excelled, we wouldn’t have had the function.”
Compiled by Jeretha Oosthuizen
