South Africa’s wunderkind sprinter Bayanda Walaza has just become the ninth South African to dip under 10 seconds in the 100m, lowering the national under-20 mark in the process.
The 19-year-old, a member of the 4x100m team that won Olympic silver in Paris last year, crossed the line in 9.99sec to win the Gauteng North championships at Pilditch Stadium in Pretoria on Sunday.
Walaza, also the under-20 world 100m and 200m champion, beat Gift Leotlela (10.17) and Emile Erasmus (10.26) to take the provincial title.
His time also made him only the seventh under-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.
Walaza, who turned 19 in February, underlined again the need to keep the relay team in shape ahead of the world championships in Tokyo in September.