South Africa’s teen sensation Bayanda Walaza has challenged Australian rival Gout Gout to face him in a sprints contest that will determine who between them is better.
South African sprint sensation Bayanda Walaza and his Australian counterpart Gout Gout have been turning heads with their speed in recent months and they are now seen as the future.
Walaza is already an Olympics medalist at just 19 and is fresh from winning gold at the World Relays while he also has titles at U20.
Meanwhile, Gout Gout, who is just 17, has broken several records in both 100m and 200m to earn comparisons with the legendary Usain Bolt.
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Walaza and Gout Gout faced off during the 2024 World U20 Championships in Lima, Peru when the South African won both 100m and 200m titles, becoming the first athlete to do so since 1998, and beat the Australian in the 200m as the Queensland-born teenager won silver.
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However, with their stocks rising, there is interest among fans to see who between the two teenagers is better and Walaza is welcoming such a showdown.
What Has Bayanda Walaza Said About Gout Gout?
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“People talk about this rivalry, which excites me and shows that people notice athletics. I never thought that athletics was this big,” Walaza told Olympics.
“I've seen the comments, and people are saying ‘Walaza vs Gout!’ It makes me want to race him again.”
The South African, who was part of the team that stormed to 4x100m gold at the World Relays Championships in Guangzhou, China on Sunday, acknowledges Gout Gout has improved since their last showdown in Peru but has confidence that he can conquer him once again.
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“I think he's better than he was last year, from what I can see. I can see that he's improved a lot since last year. I just want to race him again and see how it’s going to go again,” he added.
“We are creating a thing where the new generation is coming up, and people are noticing the young ones.”
Walaza, who was part of Team South Africa’s 4x100m relay team that scooped Olympics silver in Paris last year, has been improving this year and became the first runner to clock a sub-10 in 2025, managing 9.99 seconds in Pretoria in March, and has since followed it up with two 10.00-second runs.
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