Viljoen wins SA’s first gold medal at the World Student Games

Tuks's athletes upped South Africa's medal tally this afternoon by a four in a 60-minute blitzkrieg at the World Student Games in Chengdu, China.

On the track, Marli Viljoen won gold in the 400 metres and Charne Swart bronze in the 800 metres. The heroines of the pool were Kaylene Corbett, who won silver in the 100m breaststroke, and Erin Gallagher, with silver in the 100m freestyle.

Their heroics means South Africa has won seven medals (1 gold, 5 silver and 1 bronze). Tuks's contribution to the medal tally is six for now. Christiaan de Klerk won a silver medal in the compound archery competition, while Gallagher also won a silver in the 50m-butterfly.

Shaun Maswanganyi, who studies in the USA, won silver in the 100 metres.

This afternoon's big highlight was undoubtedly Marli Viljoen's speedy exploits in the 400 metres for women.

The first 200 metres of the race boiled down to a duel between Viljoen and Corrssia Perry from the United States.

It looked like the American was the faster runner for a second or so.

But Viljoen was not going to give up on a fight. Over the last 150 metres, she started to push the "big gears". It paid off. Stride for stride, she began to open a gap.

Viljoen won in 52.38s. Perry was second in 52.62s and Barbora Malikova (Czech Republic) third in 52.66s.

The Tuks athlete is having a dream season. Earlier this season in Germiston, she set a personal best by clocking 51.81s in Germiston.

Swart's performance in the 800 metres was as gutsy. She ran a tactically sound race. Over the first 400 metres, she ensured she stayed with the frontrunners, not wasting energy. When the bell ran for the final lap, she was third.

Swart then started to up her pace. For about 250 metres, she and Uganda's Knight Aciru tested each other.

Coming into the final straight, it looked like Swart could win. But she started to run out of steam. That is when Italy's Laura Pellicoro made her move.

The Italian won in 2:04.20. Aciru was second in 2:04.34, with Swart finishing in 2:04.73.

The 21-year-old Tuks athlete could be an athlete to watch. Over the last four years, she has continuously been getting faster.

In 2020, her best time in the two-lap race was 2:13.96. This season, in April, she clocked 2:03.28. It equates to being nearly 10 seconds faster than she was in 2020.

Cometh the hour cometh the woman is an excellent way to describe Corbett's heroics. She seems to have the knack to peak when it matters.

At first, it was to ensure that swims finals at the World Championships and the Olympic Games.

Last year was her big breakthrough when she won bronze in the 200m breaststroke at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games. Now she has upped the stakes-winning silver. And the 100m-breaststroke is not even her favourite event.

Still, Corbett impressed with her race tactics. After the first 50 metres, she was third, trailing Kotryna Teterevkova (Lithuania) by 0.60s. But then she had a brilliant turn and proved why she is a fast finisher.

Teterekova won in 1:06.74. Corbett clocked 1:06.98, and Anna Sxztandera (Poland) third in