UJ athletes return from the Olympics

The five University of Johannesburg (UJ) students and athletics club members who went to the Rio 2016 Olympics are back in South Africa.

UJ athletics manager, Roger Haitengi, said it has been a long season for the athletes. “They gave it their best and we at UJ are very proud of them,” he said. Haitengi added that for four of the athletes it was the first time they participated in the Olympics; only Mokoena had been to the Olympics before.

UJ student, Ruswahl Samaai, the current South African long jump champion finished ninth; UJ student Lynique Prinsloo, who is a South African champion, finished 33rd in the long jump event and UJ student, Anél Oosthuizen, a South African record holder, came 63rd in race-walking. UJ Athletics Club member Alyssa Conley, came 41st in the 100m and 36th in the 200m sprints, and fellow club member, Khotso Mokoena, who is the bronze African champion, came 31st in the triple-jump event.

He said the athletes might be a little disappointed because they wanted to achieve more, but the university understands that adapting to another country is not easy for any athlete. “UJ is proud and they have represented us at the highest level,” he said proudly. He added that out of 58 million people in South Africa, about 140 were chosen to go to the Olympics and five of them were from UJ.

“The athletes are back home, resting, getting ready to resume training and catching up with their studies,” he said. The athletes will soon start preparing for the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Championships in London, next year.

This is a developing story. Follow Northcliff Melville Times for more articles on the Olympics and participating athletes.