Leading the way for South Africa with two of those medals was the shining talent Karabo Mailula, who won bronze in the mixed long relay and gold in the women's 10km after an extremely tough race, according to the International University Sports Federation (FISU) in an article written by Fabio De Dominicis - UMedia Reporter. 

"My individual 10km race was tough. I was battling the flu and suffered a lot from the heat. I didn't think I would win this event, I just came to run my best," she told FISU.net after winning 11 seconds ahead of Great Britain's Alice Goodall. 

She ran her best without any guidance to keep a promise to her primary school teacher, who believed in her talent at the age of 11. "I had no coach and I knew nothing about training, so I did my best in local competitions. When I left primary school, I was awarded a prize for being the best athlete and that motivated me a lot. I promised my teacher that I wouldn't stop running in high school," she said. 

Now a third-year education student at the University of Pretoria, things have changed. Karabo is now coached by world-renowned middle-distance runner and Olympic gold medallist Caster Semenya. So what is it like to be coached by a multiple world, continental, Olympic and Commonwealth champion? 

"I've learnt so much from her, like believing in yourself, trusting the process even if you don't improve immediately, and learning to be patient. Coach Caster has also helped me with running strategies, being consistent with my running times and not panicking when I run," Karabo stressed. 

The 21-year-old, who describes her success at the FISU Cross Country Championships as the greatest achievement of her career, has now qualified to represent South Africa at the World Athletics Cross Country Championships in Belgrade, Serbia, on 30 March. She is looking forward to competing against and rubbing shoulders with the best in the world. 

"I want to run my best in Serbia and represent my country well. I hope to learn new strategies on how to run in these big races with experienced athletes," she said modestly. For now though, it's back to the books for Karabo, with her long-term goal of becoming a teacher right up there with her desire to "train as hard as I can to run faster," she concluded. 

The 22-year-old Karabo Mailula will join Kyla Jacobs, Tayla Kavanagh, Cacisile Sosibo, Lisha Van Onselen and Glenrose Xaba as part of a strong South African senior women's team in Belgrade.