After taking another step forward in his blossoming career, Bayanda Walaza admitted he was surprised by his latest record-breaking performance.
The 19-year-old sprinter won the men’s 100m race at the Boris Hanzekovic Memorial, a World Athletics Continental Tour meeting held in Zagreb on Saturday.
He stopped the clock at 9.94 seconds, breaking his own national U20 record of 9.99 which he set in Pretoria in March, climbing to fourth place in the all-time world junior rankings.
“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.”
Groenewald shatters race walking record
Meanwhile, in Cape Town on Saturday, Jessica Groenewald was also in record-breaking form, obliterating the South African women’s mark at the SA 35km Race Walking Championships.
Groenewald went unchallenged on her way to an impressive victory in 3:10:40.
She took nearly 10 minutes off the previous SA 35km best of 3:20:25 which was set by Natalie le Roux en route to the finish at the 50km World Race Walking Championships in Taicang in 2018.
