At just 19 years old, South Africa’s Bayanda Walaza has already made a global impact in sprinting, with a string of international successes and a rapidly growing reputation.

Fresh off the back of a personal best of 9.94 seconds at the Zagreb Continental Tour, Walaza arrives in Nairobi brimming with confidence for the sixth Kip Keino Classic Continental Tour, set to take place at the Ulinzi Sports Complex.

Walaza’s meteoric rise began with a bronze medal in the 100m at the 2023 Africa Under-18 Championships in Ndola, Zambia.

Since then, he has gone from strength to strength, recently competing in his first Olympic Games in Paris as part of the South African 4x100m men’s team, which claimed a silver medal an incredible feat for a teenager on the world stage.

Adding to his growing list of accolades, Walaza played a key role in South Africa’s gold medal-winning 4x100m relay team at the World Relays in Guangzhou, China, earlier this month.

His performances have not only earned him international recognition but also marked him as one of Africa’s most exciting young talents.

On Saturday, Walaza will face his toughest challenge yet as he lines up against Africa’s fastest man, Ferdinand Omanyala, the home crowd favorite who is eager to make amends after a disappointing finish outside the podium at last year’s Kip Keino Classic.

Omanyala, with a season best of 10.00 seconds set at the Botswana Grand Prix, will be looking to reassert his dominance in front of his home fans.

The men’s 100m field is stacked with talent, featuring Kenya’s Mark Otieno, Cameroon’s Claude ITOUNGUE, South Africa’s Shaun Maswanganyi, American Elijah Hall, and Australian Lachlan Kennedy. The race, set as the final event of the day at 5:52pm, promises to be a thrilling showdown between established stars and emerging talents.

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