Prinsloo, Samaai named UJ sports stars
JOBURG – Athletics stars win big at UJ annual sports awards.
Long jumpers Ruswahl Samaai and Lynique Prinsloo received recognition for their achievements when they were named sports stars of the year at the University of Johannesburg’s awards gala dinner at the Johannesburg Country Club recently.
Both student-athletes represented South Africa at the Rio Olympics after some stellar performances during the year.
The 25-year-old Samaai, who finished ninth in Rio after jumping in the final with a hamstring injury, was voted Sportsman of the Year and Prinsloo received the Sportswoman of the Year award.
Samaai put down a marker when he set a national indoor record of 8.18m at the World Indoor Championships in Portland, Oregon, in the United States in March.
Long Jumper Ruswahl Samaai wins big at the annual University of Johannesburg awards.
The former Paarl Gymnasium champ, who is studying transport management, continued to impress by taking gold in the national championships at Stellenbosch with an impressive jump of 8.34m.
He had further success in the Varsity Athletics competition in March, the University Sport South Africa (Ussa) champs in Polokwane in April and the African Championships in Durban in June.
Prinsloo, who grew up in Springs, received the women’s award after some fine performances this year culminated in the gold medal at the SA champs. The 25-year-old education student was 33rd in Rio after jumping 6.10m and earlier won titles in the Varsity Athletics events, the Ussa champs and the Central Gauteng Athletics meeting in Germiston.
Rio Paralympics long jumper Andrea Dalle Ave, who was recently named Gauteng Sports Personality of the Year, was the runner-up in the men’s category.
The runner-up spot in the women’s category went to Olympian Anel Oosthuizen, who was 63rd in Rio in the 20km walk.
Third places went to squash stars Kyle Maree and Alexia Pienaar, who helped UJ win the Ussa tournament for the fifth year in a row in July.
The top student-athlete award, which combines academic prowess with sporting success, went to Maree, who obtained a 73 per cent average. Olympic walker Oosthuizen was the runner-up with an academic achievement of 74.16 per cent and third place was shared by rugby player Wian Conradie (76.8 per cent) and Pienaar (72.29 per cent).
Recommended read: Prinsloo’s rocky road to the Olympics
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