Latest news with #WorldAthleticsU20Championships
Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- General
- Hindustan Times
Asian Athletics Championships 2025 gold medallist, Haryana's Pooja Singh: No challenge can stop me!
Athlete Pooja Singh grabbed the gold medal at the Asian Athletics Championships 2025 in South Korea, on Friday (May 30). Notably, she achieved the feat with torn spikes! Now back home in Fatehabad, the Haryana girl tells us the first thing she did upon returning: 'I handed over the medal to my parents. Jab unhone mera medal apne haath mein liya, unki aankhon mein bahut garv aur khushi thi... It was a special feeling that can't be explained in words.' For the 18-year-old high jumper's parents – who've celebrated every occasion be it big or small – this feat for India made them feel 'very proud'. Especially since her leap of 1.89m broke her own U-20 national record set last year at the 2024 World Athletics U20 Championships in Peru. Mention it, and the teen responds with humility: 'I didn't celebrate too much because I had to return to my training.' Pooja is a first-year college student pursuing bachelors in Physical Education and Sports. Being a sportsperson, she is cognisant of how fickle fame is. Long before the medals and ensuing spotlight, she had been training in dusty fields. 'I used bamboo poles in place of proper crossbars. Sach kahun toh itne bade competition mein maine phate huye spikes par kinesiology tape laga kar khela tha,' she adds. But nothing has ever seemed like an extenuating circumstance for this grounded girl. She reflects: 'What if my shoes were torn in this championship, or I have trained with bamboos in the past? Agar mere paas kuchh nahin hai toh uska matlab yeh nahin ki main life mein kuchh bada achieve nahin kar sakti! I believe in three things — hard work, discipline, and dedication — baaki sab sambhal jayega. There is no challenge in life that can or should stop me from achieving my dreams.' Her steely conviction and quiet determination also stem from her compass cum coach, Balwan Parta. 'Mere coach mere parent hain, guide bhi, aur dost bhi. Main unse ladti hoon aur seekhti bhi hoon,' she shares with a smile, while crediting her coach for igniting within her the passion for this sport. Pooja adds, 'My coach taught me that medals toh aate rahenge, but next jump aur high honi chahiye! Jo jeet liya woh ab peeche reh gaya. Now, the next target is to get back to training immediately and fulfil my ultimate dream — to win India another medal in the 2028 LA Olympics.'
The Citizen
25-05-2025
- 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.
CNN
27-03-2025
- Sport
- CNN
17-year-old sprint sensation Gout Gout is the ‘next best thing,' says Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo
Australian sprinter Gout Gout may only be 17, but Olympic 200-meter champion Letsile Tebogo says the teenage sensation has the potential to be one of the greatest athletes in history. Gout, widely considered one of the fastest youngsters in the world, has put together a series of breathtaking times in recent months to grab the attention of the very best in the business. Sprint legend Usain Bolt has previously said that Gout 'looks like young me' and now Tebogo, who upset Noah Lyles to win the 200m gold medal at Paris 2024, has had his say. 'His style of running, it's top-notch,' Tebogo told journalists ahead of the Maurie Plant Meet in Melbourne this week. 'I believe he's going to be the next big thing for the continent.' Gout broke onto the scene in 2022 when he ran the 100m in 10.57 seconds as a 14-year-old, but garnered even more attention last year when he ran 200m in 20.60 at the World Athletics U20 Championships – 0.01 seconds faster than a 15-year-old Bolt managed in 2002. He has continued his hot form into this season and ran a world-leading time of 20.05 seconds in the 200m earlier this month, just 0.01 outside his own Australian record which he set in December. He then followed it up by becoming the first-ever Australian to break the 20-second barrier, running 19.98 seconds in the Queensland State Championships under-20 200m final. However, the time won't stand as an official record because of illegal wind conditions (+3.6m/s). Gout will race again in the 200m event in Melbourne this week, where he's set to face Australia's current fastest man, Lachie Kennedy. The teenager will not be facing Tebogo, though, who will instead test himself in the 400m event. 'He can be one of the best, he can be in the history books,' Tebogo added, per Reuters. 'If he continues the hunger that he has right now, he could go very far.' Tebogo has warned Gout and his team to take things slowly, urging them to not rush into racing on the senior tour. 'The best advice I was told was that Rome wasn't built in a day. I couldn't get the concept at first,' the 21-year-old said. 'Just introduce him slowly to the seniors … because with the seniors we are all hungry to get the money, the medals and everything.' CNN's Matias Grez and George Ramsay contributed reporting.
CNN
27-03-2025
- Sport
- CNN
17-year-old sprint sensation Gout Gout is the ‘next best thing,' says Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo
Australian sprinter Gout Gout may only be 17, but Olympic 200-meter champion Letsile Tebogo says the teenage sensation has the potential to be one of the greatest athletes in history. Gout, widely considered one of the fastest youngsters in the world, has put together a series of breathtaking times in recent months to grab the attention of the very best in the business. Sprint legend Usain Bolt has previously said that Gout 'looks like young me' and now Tebogo, who upset Noah Lyles to win the 200m gold medal at Paris 2024, has had his say. 'His style of running, it's top-notch,' Tebogo told journalists ahead of the Maurie Plant Meet in Melbourne this week. 'I believe he's going to be the next big thing for the continent.' Gout broke onto the scene in 2022 when he ran the 100m in 10.57 seconds as a 14-year-old, but garnered even more attention last year when he ran 200m in 20.60 at the World Athletics U20 Championships – 0.01 seconds faster than a 15-year-old Bolt managed in 2002. He has continued his hot form into this season and ran a world-leading time of 20.05 seconds in the 200m earlier this month, just 0.01 outside his own Australian record which he set in December. He then followed it up by becoming the first-ever Australian to break the 20-second barrier, running 19.98 seconds in the Queensland State Championships under-20 200m final. However, the time won't stand as an official record because of illegal wind conditions (+3.6m/s). Gout will race again in the 200m event in Melbourne this week, where he's set to face Australia's current fastest man, Lachie Kennedy. The teenager will not be facing Tebogo, though, who will instead test himself in the 400m event. 'He can be one of the best, he can be in the history books,' Tebogo added, per Reuters. 'If he continues the hunger that he has right now, he could go very far.' Tebogo has warned Gout and his team to take things slowly, urging them to not rush into racing on the senior tour. 'The best advice I was told was that Rome wasn't built in a day. I couldn't get the concept at first,' the 21-year-old said. 'Just introduce him slowly to the seniors … because with the seniors we are all hungry to get the money, the medals and everything.' CNN's Matias Grez and George Ramsay contributed reporting.
