Bayanda Walaza/ Picture: Instagram
After garnering attention with some impressive running times this year, South African sprinting sensation Bayanda Walaza is determined to dominate as he pulled off a gold medal win at the FISU World University Games.
If there was any doubt about his talent and capabilities, Bayanda Walaza has put an end to all of it. His recent performance in Germany resulted in a gold medal win for the youngster.
He becomes the third South African to emerge victorious at the World University Games 100m race, joining Mzansi legends Akani Simbine and Anaso Jobodwana.
Ahead of the games, Bayanda had a number of impressive performances, including some personal bests and sub-10 second finishes, garnering him some attention as one of the youngsters to look out for.
Despite coming into the competition with minimal practice under his belt, he oozed confidence and aimed for the stars. He also promised a gold medal finish, which he delivered on.
After dealing with a few delays in the form of some false starts, the 19-year-old clocked a 10.16s running time, comfortably edging out athletes such as Thailand’s Puripol Boonson and Japan’s Hiroki Yanagita.
GOLD for Bayanda Walaza 🇿🇦 in the men’s 100m at the World University Games!!🥇
He clocked a time of 10.16s (-0.7) to beat Puripol Boonson 🇹🇭 who ran 10.22s for Silver.
In their last match-up, he had beaten Boonson at the World U20 Championships in Lima. pic.twitter.com/d9xGQaKWJe
— Track & Field Gazette (@TrackGazette) July 22, 2025
“It’s wonderful to say that I’m the fastest in all of the Universities around the world. It’s a great honour to be here and to win this…I arrived in Germany with not a lot of training under my belt, but I quickly convinced myself that I am a warrior and a fighter,” the young sprinter tells SABC.
Going forward, Bayanda has strategically opted to pull out of the U-20 African Championships which are set to take place in Abuja. This is to better prepare for the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo, as well as the Diamond League season where he plans to continue on his path of dominance.
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