Latest news with #Walaza
The Star
3 days ago
- Sport
- The Star
Hezekiel Sepeng, Athletics SA, backs Akani Simbine, local talent to medal at World Athletics Championships
Athletics South Africa's Head of Performance, Hezekiel Sepeng, is optimistic about the nation's chances in the upcoming World Athletics Championships and next Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028. The 50-year-old Sepeng, who claimed silver at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics in the men's 800m, said ASA was now working better with its athletes and it was beginning to show on the track. Led by Akani Simbine, the SA men's 4x100m relay team claimed silver at the Paris Olympics last year. That relay team saw the world take notice of the young stars coming up in SA sprinting with Bayanda Walaza, Bradley Nkoana, and Shaun Maswanganyi forming the four-man team. Walaza (19), Nkoana (20), and Maswanganyi (24) will certainly be around for the next Olympics, and Simbine at 31 is still setting the standards of SA sprinting on the global stage in 2025. "The athletes are doing very well. If you go back a few years, if you compare it to now, we're sitting with athletes now that are, come 2028, they will be possible medallists. We are one step ahead of the other countries. But it's only a matter of planning because the main goal here is the September World Champs in Tokyo. But overall, the athletes are doing very well, and I think we are in the right space when it comes to the performance of the athletes," Sepeng told "The relationship between the athletes and the federation is in the right space. We listen to the athletes, and they share their goals with us. We needed to blend together. We need to get to that level where we are definitely confident for medals at the World Champs or the Olympics in 2028.' Simbine has the fastest 100m time in the world this year so far, with his 9.90 seconds he clocked in Gaborone, Botswana, on April 12. The 31-year-old Simbine is also unbeaten in five races now, following his victory in the Diamond League in Rabat on Sunday. His time in Rabat of 9.95 was well ahead of Kenyan Ferdinand Omanyala (10.05) in second and Fred Kerley (10.07) in third. Meanwhile, Walaza, having turned 19 in February, and despite his ungainly running style, he just keeps producing faster times. On Saturday, Walaza clocked 9.94 at the Boris Hankezovic Memorial meeting in Zagreb. It's yet another SA junior record, and he tied the fourth fastest time ever run by a South African. It's also the third fastest time in the world this year. Sepeng said the success of the men's relay team has been inspirational. "If you look at 2016, where we had Caster, Luvo Manyonga and Wayde, they were medallists at the Olympic Games and World Champs. After them, it faded. We introduced the relays because we thought that we could fast-track some of the athletes who cannot make the qualifying standards," said Sepeng. "We thought, let's put them in the relay, they can still go to World Champs in the relays and that kind of motivated them. I think one of the things that really motivated them was the four-by-one relays at the Olympic Games with the two young stars." @Michael_Sherman IOL Sport
IOL News
3 days ago
- Sport
- IOL News
Hezekiel Sepeng, Athletics SA, backs Akani Simbine, local talent to medal at World Athletics Championships
VOTE OF CONFIDENCE Athletics South Africa's Head of Performance Hezekiel Sepeng, is confident in their stars like Akani Simbine (centre) and Bayanda Walaza to secure medals at the upcoming World Athletics Championships and the 2028 Olympics. Picture: AFP Walaza (19), Nkoana (20), and Maswanganyi (24) will certainly be around for the next Olympics, and Simbine at 31 is still setting the standards of SA sprinting on the global stage in 2025. Led by Akani Simbine , the SA men's 4x100m relay team claimed silver at the Paris Olympics last year. That relay team saw the world take notice of the young stars coming up in SA sprinting with Bayanda Walaza , Bradley Nkoana, and Shaun Maswanganyi forming the four-man team. The 50-year-old Sepeng, who claimed silver at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics in the men's 800m, said ASA was now working better with its athletes and it was beginning to show on the track. Athletics South Africa's Head of Performance, Hezekiel Sepeng , is optimistic about the nation's chances in the upcoming World Athletics Championships and next Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028. South African Athletes Poised for 2028 Olympic Success, Says Sepeng "The athletes are doing very well. If you go back a few years, if you compare it to now, we're sitting with athletes now that are, come 2028, they will be possible medallists. We are one step ahead of the other countries. But it's only a matter of planning because the main goal here is the September World Champs in Tokyo. But overall, the athletes are doing very well, and I think we are in the right space when it comes to the performance of the athletes," Sepeng told "The relationship between the athletes and the federation is in the right space. We listen to the athletes, and they share their goals with us. We needed to blend together. We need to get to that level where we are definitely confident for medals at the World Champs or the Olympics in 2028.' Simbine has the fastest 100m time in the world this year so far, with his 9.90 seconds he clocked in Gaborone, Botswana, on April 12. The 31-year-old Simbine is also unbeaten in five races now, following his victory in the Diamond League in Rabat on Sunday. His time in Rabat of 9.95 was well ahead of Kenyan Ferdinand Omanyala (10.05) in second and Fred Kerley (10.07) in third. Meanwhile, Walaza, having turned 19 in February, and despite his ungainly running style, he just keeps producing faster times. On Saturday, Walaza clocked 9.94 at the Boris Hankezovic Memorial meeting in Zagreb. It's yet another SA junior record, and he tied the fourth fastest time ever run by a South African. It's also the third fastest time in the world this year. Sepeng said the success of the men's relay team has been inspirational. "If you look at 2016, where we had Caster, Luvo Manyonga and Wayde, they were medallists at the Olympic Games and World Champs. After them, it faded. We introduced the relays because we thought that we could fast-track some of the athletes who cannot make the qualifying standards," said Sepeng. "We thought, let's put them in the relay, they can still go to World Champs in the relays and that kind of motivated them. I think one of the things that really motivated them was the four-by-one relays at the Olympic Games with the two young stars." @Michael_Sherman IOL Sport
Daily Maverick
6 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Maverick
Akani Simbine is leading South Africa's greatest-ever crop of sprinters
There is seemingly a young, world-class sprinter around every corner in South Africa. South Africa's sprinting stocks have been filled to the brim, and in some distances are pouring over. Akani Simbine is leading a pack of mostly young, incredibly fast sprinters who are starting to dominate the track globally. Simbine is in the form of his life, having won all five 100m races he's participated in this year, as well as opening his season with his first major medal, sealing bronze in the 60m Indoor Championships. Three of those five wins have been at Diamond League events, with his most recent victory this past weekend in Rabat, Morocco, in a time of 9.95 seconds. It came against a strong field that included Kenya's Ferdinand Omanyala, two-time Olympic 100m medalist Fred Kerley — who finished second and third respectively — as well as America's Kyree King and Botswana's first Olympic champion, Letsile Tebogo. The unprecedented run of success this year is built on a career of consistency by Simbine. In his first 100m race of the year, at the Botswana Golden Grand Prix at the start of April, Simbine ran 9.90 seconds — still currently the world lead — to become the first athlete ever to run sub-10 seconds in the 100m for 11 consecutive years. For the better part of the past decade Simbine has been carrying the 100m sprinting baton on his own internationally, but over the last few seasons a plethora of world-class sprinters have landed on the track. The one that has attracted the most attention is 19-year-old Bayanda Walaza. The attention is not unwarranted as this past weekend Walaza ran a blistering 9.94 seconds in Zagreb, Croatia — the fastest any South African under-20 athlete has ever run. The speedy dash put Walaza firmly into the national record books, as the tied fourth-fastest South African across 100m of all time. Only Simbine (9.82), Benjamin Richardson (9.86) and Shaun Maswanganyi (9.91) have ever gone faster. Depth A sign of South Africa's incredible depth is that Richardson (21) and Maswanganyi (24) are not even at the peak of their powers yet. South Africa's greatest-ever sprinters are all active right now. To add to them, Walaza'a 9.94 seconds is tied with Wayde van Niekerk and Gift Leotlela, whose personal bests are the same mark. Van Niekerk's history of injury is well documented. Leotlela though, having set that mark in 2021, is nearing being back to his best, which adds another name to South Africa's sprinting base. In April this year, 27-year-old Leotlela won the national championship title in the 100m dash in a time of 9.99 seconds, inching quicker than Walaza by 0.01 seconds. This victory came after a few seasons of injury and subsequent loss of form. Leotlela beat out an extremely competitive field that included Richardson, who placed third. The standard of competition was so high that Bradley Nkoana (20) — part of South Africa's 4x100m silver medallist team at the Paris Olympic Games, as well as bronze medalist at the under-20 World Athletics Championships last year — didn't even make the final. One-lap specialists South Africa's strength in depth is evident in the one-lap sprint as well. While there is no one standout like Simbine in the 100m version of the sprint, there is a world-class young group developing. The oldest of the bunch, Zakithi Nene (27), is having a breakthrough season of note after a disappointing Paris Olympic Games in which he failed to make the 400m final. Since then, the visibly stronger Nene has been in incredible form. He ran a personal-best of 44.22 seconds at the National Championships in April, comfortably beating a strong field — in which none of the eight runners went over 46 seconds. In Nene's most recent race, at the Diamond League in Rabat this weekend, he finished in a close second after being beaten at the dip by America's Jacory Patterson. Nene came in at 44.46 seconds. Lythe Pillay (22) is another with supreme control over the one-lap sprint, but has struggled so far to consistently replicate the form that made him a junior world champion. Pillay is a two-time national champion in the 400m and has a personal best of 44.31 seconds, exhibiting his clear potential. South Africa currently has two of the best under-20 runners in the 400m sprint coming through. Udeme Okon is only 19 years old and has already broken 45 seconds, claiming second place behind Nene at the National Champs in 44.99 seconds. He also won the Under-20 World Championship comfortably last year in Peru. Schoolboy Leendert Koekemoer (18), meanwhile, has a personal best of 45.03 seconds — which also came at the nationals. Koekemoer and Okon, despite their youthful ages, were both part of the 4x400m team that claimed gold and a national record at the World Relays in Guangzhou, China, earlier this month. Not only do they have the talent, they have the mettle, too. South Africa also has the always consistent Gardeo Isaacs, who along with Nene were the other members of the relay team, to fall back on as well as US-based Antonie Nortje. South Africa's sprinting depth has never been this deep before. It means that while athletes like Simbine are a shoo-in for a podium position at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo in September, both groups of athletes are also capable of returning with gold medals around their necks at the relay portion of the event — as they did at the World Relays. DM
The Citizen
6 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.
IOL News
26-05-2025
- Sport
- IOL News
Bayanda Walaza: The rising star set to succeed Akani Simbine as South Africa's sprint king
POISED FOR GREATNESS Bayanda Walaza, South Africa's teenage sprint sensation, is poised to succeed Akani Simbine as the nation's sprint king after setting a new SA junior 100m record of 9.94 seconds. Picture: BackpagePix His time in Rabat of 9.95 was well ahead of Kenyan Ferdinand Omanyala (10.05) in second and Fred Kerley (10.07) in third. The 31-year-old Simbine is also unbeaten in five races now, following his victory in the Diamond League in Rabat on Sunday. Simbine also has the fastest 100m time in the world this year so far, with his 9.90 seconds he clocked in Gaborone, Botswana, on April 12. The contribution Akani Simbine has made to South African sprinting cannot be questioned, as he has been the flag-bearer for a generation. Bayanda Walaza Sets New SA Junior Record with 9.94, Poised to Succeed Simbine Despite his incredible form at his age, Simbine surely can't remain SA's top sprinter for much longer, as teenager Bayanda Walaza just keeps getting better. Walaza turned 19 in February, and despite his ungainly running style, he just keeps producing faster times. On Saturday, Walaza clocked 9.94 at the Boris Hankezovic Memorial meeting in Zagreb. It's yet another SA junior record, and he tied the fourth fastest time ever run by a South African. It's also the third fastest time in the world this year. Last year, Walaza was part of the SA men's 4x100m team which claimed silver at the Paris Olympics. That team was led by Simbine, in what to date has been his only major international medal. Despite his lack of medals on the biggest stage, the consistency and longevity of Simbine has been phenomenal. Testament to this is the fact that Simbine has run sub-10 in the 100m for the last 11 years in a row - which no other sprinter has ever achieved. Simbine's spikes indeed will be big ones to fill, but there's little doubt that Walaza will be up to the task when that day comes. @Michael_Sherman IOL Sport
