Matric student Bayanda Walaza at the Olympic Games in Paris earlier this month. Picture: Anton Geyser/Gallo Images
Over the last 10 years, South Africa has experienced a sprint revolution, and the next generation of rising stars look set to raise the bar even further.
Since former national record holder Simon Magakwe became the first South African to run under 10 seconds with a historic victory at the SA Championships in Pretoria in 2014, the country has produced a long list of world-class 100m sprinters.
Once Magakwe had gone under the 10-second barrier, it opened the floodgates, and seven other SA athletes – Akani Simbine, Benji Richardson, Shaun Maswanganyi, Wayde van Niekerk, Gift Leotlela, Thando Roto and Henricho Bruintjies – have since gone under the mark. Simbine has also lowered the national record to 9.82 seconds.
In addition, seven SA men – Clarence Munyai, Luxolo Adams, Anaso Jobodwana, Van Niekerk, Simbine, Maswangani and Richardson – have dipped under 20 seconds over 200m, and Van Niekerk is the world record holder (43.03) in the 400m event.
With local sprinters proving they have the talent to compete against the fastest athletes in the world, younger athletes have developed a real belief that they can do it too.
And while we haven’t seen the same sort of performances among the country’s elite women (national junior record holder Viwe Jingqi might be able to change that) the men are getting quicker and quicker.
At the Paris Olympics earlier this month, two teenagers (18-year-old Bayanda Walaza and 19-year-old Bradley Nkoana) formed part of the SA 4x100m relay team that claimed the silver medal.
Both sprinters reaffirmed their potential in the early hours of Thursday morning, with Walaza winning gold in the 100m final at the World Athletics U-20 Championships in Peru, while Nkoana earned bronze.
Walaza became the first South African to win the world junior 100m title, and though he settled for bronze in Peru, Nkoana flaunted his talent at a meeting in Switzerland last month when he broke the SA junior record by clocking 10.03.
On top of this, 20-year-old Richardson has already clocked 9.86, also cementing his place as one of the most promising speedsters on the international circuit.
If this new generation can maintain their momentum over the next few years, South African sprinters are going to be difficult to beat at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
As good as our country has become in the art of sprinting, it looks like the best is yet to come.
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