It appears South African sprinting sensations Bayanda Walaza and Akani Simbine have forgotten what it is to lose, as they have pulled off an impressive start to the 2025 season in their respective lanes.
After struggling for some years, South Africa’s athletics department is singing a different tune, as their athletes have come out guns blazing to make a name for themselves this season. The short season has been marked by some impressive performances from various athletes, however, sprinters Bayanda Walaza and Akani Simbine have separated themselves from the pound, as they are both yet to suffer a defeat since the season began.
After pulling off the near impossible as mzansi’s youngest member of the gold-winning 4×100 men’s relay team at the Paris Olympics in 2024, Bayanda Walaza has done nothing but prove his doubters and haters wrong. The youngster made headlines when he revealed that he would be attending Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) for his tertiary education, as some members of the public believed he was selling himself short, as they believed the institution would not be able to provide him with the necessary resources and support.
However, the results of going to TUT have appeared to be quite the opposite of what these fans were concerned about, as the youngster looks to be in optimal form. In the short 2025 season, the young sprinter has solidified his place as the upcoming young athlete to look out for, and a suitable candidate to stand beside the veteran Akani Simbine, and take over the reigns as a leader when necessary.
His 9.99s performance at the Athletics Gauteng North (AGN) meet set the tone for what was to come in the early parts of the season, as it marked him as the first man to run sub 10 seconds in 2025. He has since pulled out more impressive performances, and his most recent showing at the Boris Hanzekovic Memorial meet in Zagreb saw him record a new personal best time of 9.92s, as he secured first position against some notable competition in the men’s 100m race.
9.94 ?️
Nothing short of impressive for Bayanda Walaza ?#ContinentalTourGold pic.twitter.com/Ybova0Ws6q
— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) May 24, 2025
9.94s!!??
South African U20 Record ☑️Bayanda Walaza ?? has just run a blistering new Personal Best (PB) of 9.94s (-0.3) to win the men’s 100m at the Zagreb Meeting!
He becomes the 2nd fastest African U20 alltime after Letsile Tebogo’s World Record of 9.91s!
He defeated a… pic.twitter.com/4da9tpOQ75
— Track & Field Gazette (@TrackGazette) May 24, 2025
