South Africa’s rising sprint star Bayanda Walaza delivered a performance for the ages at the Boris Hanžeković Memorial in Zagreb meeting , clocking a stunning 9.94 seconds (-0.1 m/s) in the men’s 100m on Saturday.
The time marked a new personal best and elevated Walaza to second place on the African U20 all-time list. He is trailing only Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo, who ran 9.91 seconds in 2022.
In a stacked field that included top European sprinters, Bayanda Walaza separated himself with a blistering finish. He left Germany’s Owen Ansah and Sweden’s Henrik Larsson — both clocking 10.20 — in his wake.
Walaza’s triumph underlines his growing status as one of the most exciting young sprinters on the international stage.
Just weeks earlier, the 20-year-old had clocked a wind-assisted 9.90s in Germiston, South Africa — a clear sign of his readiness to challenge global standards. His legal sub-10 clocking in Zagreb now confirms his breakthrough. He is now ranked third in the 2025 world 100m rankings so far.
Some other results from Zagreb Meeting
Women’s 400m Hurdles:
Norway’s Amalie Iuel took top honors in 55.06 seconds. She narrowly defeated Germany’s Elena Kelety (55.16) and Barbados’ Tia-Adana Belle (56.01).
Women’s 100m Hurdles:
USA’s Alaysha Johnson surged to victory in 12.82 seconds. She was followed closely by Hungary’s Luca Kozák (12.88) and Slovenia’s Nika Glojnarič (13.01).
In addition , in the Men’s 110m Hurdles at Zagreb meting , American hurdler Dylan Beard crossed the line first in 13.17 seconds, edging out Jamaica’s Olympic champion Omar McLeod (13.20) and Japan’s Rachid Muratake (13.25).
The Boris Hanžeković Memorial, part of the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold, is one of Europe’s premier athletics meetings, held annually in Zagreb, Croatia. Thus, the event reflects the legendary Croatian hurdler Boris Hanžeković and regularly attracts elite global competition.
