Local athletes break records at Grand Prix championships

Bayanda Walaza and rising hurdles star, Tumi Ramokgopa, stole the show setting new SA U20 records at the ASA Grand Prix 2 at UJ Stadium.

In the men’s 200m race, world junior champion Walaza stopped the clock at 20.08 seconds, clipping 0.02 off the national U20 record of 20.10 set by Clarence Munyai in Tshwane in March 2017.

He finished well clear of Lucky Moleyane who took second place in 20.36, while former world championships finalist Luxolo Adams grabbed third spot in 20.43.

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While the race was held in cold and wet conditions, Walaza was delighted with his performance, with the 19-year-old sprinter adding the 200m mark to the SA U20 100m record of 9.99 which he set at the Athletics Gauteng North Championships just four days earlier.

“The weather wasn’t great, but I believe when you’re fast you don’t have to complain about anything,” Walaza said afterwards.

“You cannot control the weather so you just have to make it work for you, rather than doubting yourself.

“We were truly shocked about the sub-10 (last week) and we thought ‘let’s just see what strength I have left over’ for the Grand Prix.

“We believed the 9.99 had taken everything, so we didn’t expect me to run this fast today at the Grand Prix,” said Walaza after setting the record.

Even though she didn’t win her race, 17-year-old Ramokgopa was also in record-breaking form, taking second place in the women’s 100m hurdles race in 13.22 and slicing 0.13 off the SA junior record of 13.35 set by Taylon Bieldt in Bydgoszcz in July 2016. Up front, national senior record holder Marione Fourie took the win in 12.69, setting a season’s best.

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“I’m overwhelmed. I’m in disbelief,” said Ramokgopa, who set a 400m hurdles personal best of 56.48 just hours earlier on Wednesday, in the Grand Prix pre-programme.

“I knew running against Marione was going to push me to run a SA record, but I didn’t think I would run this fast. This means a lot to break the record in my first year as a junior,” said Ramokgopa.

Among other highlights, world junior champion Udeme Okon won the men’s 400m race in a personal best of 45.27, holding off a challenge from Olympic semi-finalist Lythe Pillay, who took the runner-up spot in 45.74.

African record holder Ferdinand Omanyala of Kenya won the men’s 100m race in 10.08, while Ketlhobogile Haungura of Botswana took the 800m contest in 1:43.88.

Twenty year-old Wernich van Rensburg triumphed in the men’s 400m hurdles race in 49.24, while Nikithemba Hani produced the highlight in the field events, landing at 8.01m to win the men’s long jump.

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The ASA Grand Prix series, is a World Athletics Continental Tour Challenger meeting.

While Omanyala lined up as the pre-race favourate, all eyes were on the middle-distance events.

In the 1 500m race, Prudence Sekgodiso competed for the first time on SA soil this year, after lowering her own national short track 800m record to 1:59.88 on the European indoor circuit last month.

She was the gold medalist in the 800m at the 2019 African U18 Championships. She is also a five-time South African Athletics Championships winner in the 1500m and 800m.

Sekgodiso was named the 2024 athlete personality of the year and continued her record-breaking streak, equalling her own national record and closing out a phenomenal indoor debut circuit where she’s set a new national record in every race, setting her eyes on the World Athletics Indoor Championships.

She will represent South Africa at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Nanjing, China from March 21-23, joining in the likes of Cheswill Johnson (men’s long jump), Chris van Niekerk (men’s shot put), Akani Simbine (men’s 60m sprint).

In the 800m race, Charne Swart built on her impressive form after setting a personal best of 1:59.86 at an Athletics Gauteng North league meeting on the same Pilditch track earlier this month.

Swart’s strongest challenge was the likes of Oratile Nowe, who represented Botswana at the Olympic Games in Paris last year.

In field events, former world champion Luvo Manyonga continues his comeback to competitive athletics when he lines up in the men’s long jump. He will need to hit his straps, however, against a field which also features Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Jovan van Vuuren.

Former Olympic finalist Kyle Blignaut will also be eager to go big in the early stages of the season in the men’s shot put event.