Latest news with #BayandaWalaza
The Citizen
5 days ago
- Sport
- The Citizen
OPINION: A flailing and bobbing rocket, Bayanda Walaza is on the rise
This season, 19-year-old Walaza has already secured a gold medal at the World Relays and twice broken the SA junior 100m record. Bayanda Walaza in action for Tshwane University of Technology at the USSA national student championships in Pretoria earlier this month. Picture: Cecilia van Bers/Gallo Images When I first saw Bayanda Walaza run, my initial thought was 'this kid isn't gonna make it'. His raw talent was clear, but in every other way, he was all wrong. When Walaza hits top speed, his arms start flailing and his head begins bobbing, and he doesn't display anything you want to see in a sprinter. But one thing I've learned from watching Walaza run is that technique can be deceptive. The 19-year-old prodigy is super quick out the blocks, and when he hits his stride he is bizarrely efficient. Last season he won a historic 100m/200m double at the World U20 Championships and helped the SA 4x100m relay team earn the silver medal at the Paris Olympics. Future star? However, raw talent only takes an athlete so far, and the reality is that most junior stars don't make it at senior level. So coming into the 2025 season, I expected Walaza to hit a plateau and ultimately vanish into obscurity, as so many do. Oh how glad I am, at least on this occasion, to have been proved wrong. Opting not to fiddle too much with Walaza's style, his coach Thabo Matebedi seems to have made a wise decision by allowing him to run naturally. If Walaza was great last year, this season he has been spectacular. Superb season thus far Already in 2025, he has formed part of the quartet who won gold in the 4x100m final at the World Athletics Relays, and he has twice broken the SA junior 100m record, lowering the mark to 9.94 in Zagreb at the weekend (just 0.05 outside the world U20 record). It might seem premature to suggest he could be the next global sprinting superstar, but Walaza's early progress has been impressive, and he is remarkably consistent. Both a polite young man and a ball of raging energy, he also has the character to become a crowd favourite across the world, and he could be a wonderful ambassador for our country. How he does it, with flailing arms and a bobbing head, is far less important than what he does, and Walaza already has the medals and records to show he has what it takes.
The South African
5 days ago
- Politics
- The South African
Request for POLICE presence at ASA elections raises serious red flags
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has issued a call for calm, unity, and transparency ahead of the upcoming Athletics South Africa (ASA) elections, scheduled for 31 May 2025 at Garden Court OR Tambo. The party has voiced deep concern over what it describes as 'worrying developments' within the federation's leadership and election processes. The DA's statement comes in response to a formal request by ASA President James Moloi for police presence at the elective meeting , a move the DA says signals severe dysfunction within ASA's leadership structures. 'Electoral processes within sports federations should be peaceful, democratic exercises, not events that require law enforcement to prevent unrest,' the party said. 'The fact that such a request was deemed necessary signals a federation in disarray and teetering on the edge of chaos.' Further signs of turbulence within ASA include legal threats from license holders, the withdrawal of nominees from Central Gauteng Athletics (CGA), and reports of additional provincial pullouts ahead of the vote. 'The looming presence of the police at what should be a straightforward elective meeting is unprecedented and deeply shameful,' the DA added. The DA has urged ASA members and stakeholders to put aside factionalism and commit to a transparent, fair, and democratic election process governed by the rule of law. 'These elections must not be tainted by intimidation or interference,' the party said. 'They must be governed by fairness, the rule of law, and a shared commitment to the long-term wellbeing of South African athletics.' The opposition party also warned that the latest round of ASA infighting is part of a broader, recurring pattern of administrative dysfunction. ASA has been repeatedly criticised by the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Sport for governance failures, financial mismanagement, and internal disputes – issues that the DA says have been 'too often funded at the taxpayer's expense.' Amid the growing disarray, the DA pointed to the extraordinary performances of South African athletes, who continue to shine despite the instability at ASA. Citing 19-year-old Bayanda Walaza's record-breaking 9.94 in the 100m in Zagreb this past weekend, the party lamented how such feats are overshadowed by the federation's leadership failures. 'Moments like these should be celebrated nationally, not buried under boardroom drama,' the DA said. 'Our athletes deserve more than mismanagement and infighting. They deserve a federation that reflects the principles of accountability, professionalism, and unity.' With the ASA elections days away, all eyes are on the federation to demonstrate maturity and responsibility in managing its internal affairs. The DA reiterated its stance that South African athletes' dedication must be matched by leadership that honours the flag they represent. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
IOL News
6 days ago
- Sport
- IOL News
Bayanda Walaza clocks fourth fastest 100m time in South African sprint history
SA teenage sprint sensation Bayanda Walaza has done it again. Teenager Bayanda Walaza clocked the fourth fastest time in South African sprint history after running a lifetime best in the 100m at the Boris Hankezovic Memorial meeting in Zagreb on Saturday. Walaza showed why he is the prince of South African sprinting after clocking a sub-10 second 9.94 to blow away the field in a new national junior record. With the time, Walaza joined Wayde van Niekerk and Gift Leotlela as SA athletes who have run the 100m in 9.94. Only Akani Simbine (9.82), Benjamin Richardson (9.86) and Shaun Maswanganyi (9.91) have gone faster. In March, Walaza broke the national junior record when he became the ninth South African to run under 10 seconds, clocking 9.99.
The Citizen
6 days ago
- Sport
- The Citizen
Bayanda Walaza aims for faster times after breaking SA junior record
Walaza clocked 9.94 on Saturday to rip 0.05 off his own SA U20 100m mark. Bayanda Walaza in action at the SA Senior Championships in Potchefstroom last month. Picture: Cecilia van Bers/Gallo Images Junior sprint sensation Bayanda Walaza believes he can go even quicker, as he continues to rocket his way up the global sprinting ranks. Walaza shattered his own South African U20 record on Saturday, winning the men's 100m race at the Boris Hanzekovic Memorial, a World Athletics Continental Tour meeting in Zagreb. He stopped the clock at 9.94 seconds, slicing 0.05 off the national mark of 9.99 which he set in Pretoria in March. In the process, climbed to fourth place in both the all-time world junior rankings and the all-time SA senior rankings in the short dash. 'We were not expecting this result' 'It was something my coach and I were planning, to come here and show up and show that South Africa is one of the strongest countries, but we were not expecting this result. Maybe 9.98, but it was 9.94,' Walaza told World Athletics. 'To be one of the fastest juniors feels like an honour and makes me want to work more, be strong and win. If I could put myself together, I could be one of the fastest in the world.' Walaza's performance in Zagreb was the latest in a growing list of achievements by the 19-year-old speedster. Last year he earned a historic 100m/200m double at the World Athletics U20 Championships and formed part of the SA 4x100m relay team that secured silver at the Paris Olympics. Earlier this month, he again played a key role for the national 4x100m team who won gold at the World Athletics Relays in Guangzhou. Rabat Diamond League Meanwhile, though Walaza was the only South African competing in Zagreb, there will be 10 SA athletes lining up at the Diamond League meeting in Rabat on Sunday night. They include national 100m record holder Akani Simbine, who will look to extend his series lead in the short dash, as well as 400m world record holder Wayde van Niekerk, who turns out in the 200m sprint in only his second race of the year. Among the women, world indoor champion Prudence Sekgodiso will fancy her chances in the women's 800m event, and Olympic silver medallist Jo-Ane du Plessis will be eager to put up a fight in the women's javelin throw.
The Herald
7 days ago
- Sport
- The Herald
Bayanda Walaza strikes again as he lowers his SA age-group record
Bayanda Walaza pressed on with his incredible rise as he won the men's 100m race at the Boris Hanzekovic Memorial meet in Zagreb on Saturday in 9.94sec, lowering his own national under-20 record in the process. The 19-year-old, who finished a massive 0.26sec in front of his nearest rival, Owen Ansah of Germany, is now fourth on the all-time age-group list and joint fourth on the overall South African roster, alongside Wayde van Niekerk and training partner Gift Leotlela. Only countrymen Akani Simbine (9.82), Benjamin Richardson (9.86) and Shaun Maswanganyi (9.91) have been faster. Walaza broke the national age-group mark in Pretoria in March when he became the ninth South African to dip under 10 seconds, clocking 9.99. The three faster under-20 runners are Issamade Asinga of Surinam (9.89 in 2023), Botswana's Olympic 200m champion Letsile Tebogo (9.91 in 2022) and American Christian Miller (9.93 in 2024). Walaza has enjoyed a meteoric rise in less than a year, winning Olympic silver in the 4x100m relay in Paris, taking the 100m-200m sprint double at the 2024 under-20 world championships in Lima, Peru, and winning 4x100m gold at the World Relays in China earlier this month.
