South Africa’s sprinting wunderkind Bayanda Walaza became the ninth South African to dip under 10 seconds in the 100m when he won the Gauteng North championships in 9.99sec at Pilditch Stadium yesterday.
The time also gave the 19-year-old the national under-20 record.
The reigning U-20 100m and 200m world champion, a member of the South African men’s 4x100m team that won Olympic silver in Paris last year, beat Gift Leotlela (10.17) and Emile Erasmus (10.26).
Walaza’s time also made him only the seventh U-20 athlete in history to break the 10-second barrier, joining Botswana star Letsile Tebogo, the second-fastest at 9.91, in this elite group.
At the same venue earlier this week, Karabo Letebele beat Kenya’s African 100m record-holder Ferdinand Omanyala at the Athletics South Africa grand prix meet. Letebele won in a 10.19 personal best, with Erasmus second and Omanyala, who owns the 9.77 continental mark, third in 10.22.
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