Latest news with #Walaza
TimesLIVE
a day ago
- Sport
- TimesLIVE
Bayanda Walaza wins Universiade 100m crown on profitable day for SA
Bayanda Walaza became the third South African to win the World Student Games 100m crown as he claimed South Africa's third gold medal of the 2025 showpiece in Germany on Tuesday night. The world junior champion crossed the line in 10.16sec as he downed Puripol Boonson of Thailand, the same man he beat at the under-20 global competition in Peru last year. Anaso Jobodwana was the first South African to win this crown in 2013 and Akani Simbine followed in 2015 — and now there's 19-year-old Walaza, who has added the Universiade title to his age-group crowns and Olympic 4x100m silver medal. But it wasn't all plain sailing for the Tshwane University of Technology student, who survived anxious moments in the semifinals. Walaza escaped a false start after one of his rivals twitched in his blocks before his own indiscretion. Then the field was called back for a faulty start and when they finally got under way for real at the third firing of the gun, Walaza didn't get away as cleanly as normal. But he did enough to win his heat by one-hundredth of a second. He made no mistake in the final to cap a profitable day for South Africa with no fewer than four medals on the day. In the women's 100m Gabriella Marais ended third in 10.51, seven-hundredths of a second behind Australia winner Georgia Harris. Colette Uys took bronze in the women's shot put with a heave of 17.34m, just 1cm in front of compatriot Mine de Klerk. Olivia Nel landed her third medal of the gala as she claimed bronze in the women's 50m backstroke in 27.91sec, breaking her own African record set earlier in the competition. Then she won the first semifinal heat of the women's 50m freestyle, clocking 24.96, the second-fastest time of the evening. Nel's podium finish added to the two bronze medals claimed in relay races, one of which she won alongside twin Georgia, in the mixed 4x100m freestyle relay.
TimesLIVE
2 days ago
- Sport
- TimesLIVE
Pieter Coetzé wins again at student games as Bayanda Walaza enters fray
Pieter Coetzé picked up two more medals at the World Student Games on Monday night, including his second gold of the showpiece to lift South Africa to third on the medals table. Coetzé won the men's 50m backstroke and finished second in the 100m freestyle to take his personal tally to three at the Universiade, which is mostly spread across Germany's Rhine-Ruhr region. Guy Brooks, Ruard van Renen and Olivia Nel claimed their second bronze gongs of the gala as they finished third in the mixed 4x100m freestyle relay alongside Michaela de Villiers. By early Tuesday morning South Africa's tally at the Games stood at two gold, two silver and two bronze which placed them third behind the US and Japan. Coetzé dived into the freestyle race first, touching in 48.12sec to finish behind American Matthew King by 11-hundredths of a second. A little more than an hour later he edged the backstroke event, finishing first in 24.49, just two-hundredths of a second in front of Korean Yoon Jihwan. To date all South Africa's medals have come from swimming, which is being staged in Berlin, with Coetzé winning the 100m backstroke in a 51.99 world lead on Saturday night. Other medals have come from double Commonwealth Games champion Lara van Niekerk, who claimed took silver in the women's 50m breaststroke, and Brooks, Van Renen, Nel and Simone Moll with bronze in the mixed 4x100m medley relay. Athletics started in Bochum on Monday, with junior world champion Bayanda Walaza winning his heat in 10.27sec, the second fastest time of the round behind the man he beat into second place at the under-20 global competition, Thailand's Puripol Boonson (10.23). Walaza's compatriot Kyle Zinn was third quickest in 10.33. Walaza and Zinn will compete in the 100m semifinals on Tuesday evening, with the final scheduled for later Tuesday night.
IOL News
6 days ago
- Sport
- IOL News
'You gave me a chance, I ran with it' – teen Olympian pays it forward
His 100m personal best is 9.94 seconds, but Bayanda Walaza's greatest leap was out of hopelessness. I nearly didn't make it, says star teenage sprinter Bayanda Walaza "I truly felt afraid of losing my future." Bayanda Walaza, the world's fastest teenager, remembers the moment when he overheard a conversation about what it would take to attend a top school that could nurture his sprinting talent. "It hit me that no matter how hard I worked, without support I might not make it," says the 19-year-old. "I was in a place where I knew I had big dreams, but I didn't quite know how to reach them. Mentally, I was determined, but sometimes it felt like the odds were stacked against me." Everything changed when the Ruta Sechaba Foundation awarded Walaza a scholarship to attend Curro Hazeldean in Pretoria. Now, he's paying it forward by leading the Foundation's Nelson Mandela Day "I Funded A Future" campaign, rallying South Africans to help raise 67 donations and unlock a bonus scholarship for a learner in need. After only weeks under coach Thabo Matebedi, Walaza was shaving tenths of a second off his 100m and 200m personal bests and winning gold in both events at the South Africa Under-20 Championships. By August, the schoolboy had an Olympic silver medal around his neck as a member of South Africa's 4x100m relay team in Paris, and in May this year he ran the 100m in a personal best of 9.94 sec, just twelve-hundredths of a second outside Akani Simbine's national record. Reflecting on his journey from a backyard shack in Katlehong, Ekurhuleni, to the pinnacle of youth athletics, Walaza remains a powerful voice in South African sport, inspiring the next generation as he champions access to education and opportunity. "I was in a place where I knew I had big dreams, but I didn't quite know how to reach them," he says. "Emotionally, I was hopeful but also anxious. Academically, I tried hard but it was tough without access to the right resources." Walaza says the idea of a "world-class education" felt like something other children had – "something I would only see on TV or read about. It felt out of reach, like it belonged to a different world." Wave of gratitude Being awarded the scholarship changed that. "I'll never forget that day. I was in total shock. For a second, I thought it might be a mistake. But then it sank in and I just felt this wave of gratitude." The first person Walaza told was his mother, Tholiwe. "We hugged for a long time," he says. "I could see in her eyes that she knew life would be different now." Walaza is one of more than 3 000 young people awarded Ruta Sechaba (Sesotho for "educating the nation") scholarships to Curro schools since 2016. Recipients are selected for their academic and sporting excellence, leadership potential and commitment to making a difference in their communities. "The scholarship gave me confidence," says Walaza. "It showed me that people believed in my potential, even when I didn't fully believe in it myself. It opened the door to a better future. I went from surviving to dreaming big. "I started to believe that I could compete internationally – not just in sport but in life. It also made me realise that success is not just for certain people, it's for anyone who is given a chance." Walaza says it became clear that his personal good fortune represented something bigger when he visited his old primary school in Katlehong. "A young boy told me, 'I want to run like you one day.' That moment hit me hard. I realised I'm not just running for me – I'm running for everyone who's ever been told their dreams are too big." Someone's potential shouldn't be limited by where they were born, he says. "Talent lives everywhere – in every street, every school, every family. All it needs is a chance. "That donation could be the reason a future doctor, engineer or Olympian gets their start. It's not about knowing us, it's about believing in what's possible." After passing matric (with a distinction in isiZulu), Walaza now combines athletics with supply chain management studies at Tshwane University of Technology. What would he say to someone who thinks their contribution to a Ruta Sechaba scholarship won't make a difference? "I'd say, 'I am the difference your contribution made.' Even the smallest act of giving can change the entire direction of a young person's life. "I nearly didn't make it, but I was given a chance and I ran with it – literally and figuratively." • Donate to the Ruta Sechaba Foundation at
IOL News
01-07-2025
- Sport
- IOL News
Bayanda Walaza leads South Africa's young sprint stars at 2025 African Championships
Bayanda Walaza, South Africa's teenage sprint sensation, will be hoping to add to his recent medal haul at the CAA African U18 and U20 Championships from July 16-20 in Abeokuta, Nigeria. Young sprint star Bayanda Walaza will lead the South African charge at the 2025 CAA African Under-18 and Under-20 Championships from July 16-20 in Abeokuta, Nigeria. The team includes 14 girls in the U18 division and 19 women in the U20 age group, as well as 17 U18 boys and 20 U20 men. The world-class squad is spearheaded by U20 world 100m and 200m champion Walaza, who will compete in the junior men's 100m event. Walaza broke the South African U20 100m record in Zagreb, Croatia, on May 24. His time of 9.94 seconds was also just 0.03 seconds off the U20 world record held by Botswana's Olympic gold medallist Letsile Tebogo. The 19-year-old SA sprint sensation was also a key part of the SA 4X100m relay team that stormed to gold at the World Athletics Relays in China earlier in May. He ran the lead-off leg, with veteran sprinter Akani Simbine anchoring the team that finished in a world-leading time of 37.61. They became the first African team to win gold in this event at the World Relays. Walaza also won silver in the 4X100m relay alongside Simbine at last year's Paris Olympics.
The Star
30-05-2025
- 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
