South African athletes delivered impressive results throughout the 2025 season across a range of disciplines.
We pick the top five performances achieved this year.
Prudence Sekgodiso
Opening her international season in spectacular fashion, Sekgodiso was on top of the world.
After breaking the national women’s short track 800m record in her first indoor campaign, Sekgodiso went on to win gold at the World Indoor Championships held in Nanjing in March.
And she didn’t just win. She destroyed the field in the final, soaring to victory by more than a full second with a completely dominant effort.
She completed the four-lap race in 1:58.40, breaking her own SA record and clocking the fastest indoor time in the world this season, powering her way to a memorable global title.
Maxime Chaumeton
He doesn’t race very often, but when he does, Chaumeton tends to remind us how much of a phenom he is.
Competing at the Brasov Running Festival in Romania in March, he produced the most astounding performance by a South African road runner in decades.
Over the 10km distance, Chaumeton fought to the line, taking second place in 26:55.
He became the first SA man to run under 27 minutes, obliterating the national record of 27:28 which was set by Adriaan Wildschutt earlier in the year.
Zakithi Nene
Nene has been around for some time, establishing himself as one of South Africa’s top 400m runners, but this year he rocketed through the global ranks, shattering the ceiling in an incredible breakthrough season.
Competing at the Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi in May, Nene destroyed his personal best, securing victory in 43.76 seconds.
It was the third fastest one-lap time achieved in the world this year.
Elroy Gelant
We had to wait 26 years to see one of the longest standing records in South African road running finally fall, and it was fitting that Gelant achieved the feat.
Competing at the Hamburg Marathon in Germany in April, Gelant finished fourth in 2:05:36, shattering the SA men’s 42km record of 2:06:33 set by Gert Thys in Tokyo all the way back in 1999.
Gelant has performed consistently well throughout his career, and after finding his best form over the last couple of years, he achieved perhaps the performance of his career at the age of 38.
Akani Simbine
The most consistent sprinter on the planet, Simbine waited a long time to earn his first major global medal in an individual event, but he finally ended the drought.
Displaying superb form in the early stages of the season, he made his debut at the World Indoor Championships in Nanjing, and the 31-year-old rocket did not disappoint.
He took third place in the men’s 60m final in 6.54 seconds, securing a well deserved bronze medal.
* Featured image of Prudence Sekgodiso by Cecilia van Bers
