A decade ago, Trayvon Bromell became the first teenager to a record a legal sub-10 second time. He dashed to a 9.97 to win an NCAA outdoor title in his first year of college. It was not until another eight years later that we witnessed a sub-10 dropped by a teenager, and oddly enough, it was done on the same track with Letsile Tebogo dropping the clocking time to 9.94 seconds in 2022. But since then we have seen three other junior sprinters break the 10-second barrier and on Saturday we welcomed the fourth teenager to that club.

Since Tebogo’s win, Jamaica’s Bouwahjgie Nkrumie, Issam Asinga(Suriname), and Ronal Longa (Colombia) have breached the coveted 10-second barrier, highlighting the growing trend of teenage sprinters taking over the track world. The AGN Championships in Pretoria, South Africa, was yet another example as South Africa’s sprint prodigy, Bayanda Walaza continued his rise.

Walaza stormed to the fastest 100m time in the world this year, clocking 9.99 seconds to win the Gauteng North Provincial championships, setting a national Under-20 record in the process. The 19-year-old Walaza shaved 0.04 seconds off the previous record of 10.03, set by Bradley Nkoana. He also became the first sprinter in 2025 to dip below 10 seconds.

The Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) student has had a strong start to the season, dropping 6.58s and 20.63s in the 60m and 200m respectively in February, and is now the fifth fastest junior athlete in history over 100 meters. The start to the season for the young South African has been in line with his performances last year where he became an Olympic medalist.

In Paris, he helped South Africa to win the 4x100m relay silver, finishing runner-up to Canada. A few weeks later, he followed it up with a 100-200m double at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Lima. He became only the fourth sprinter in history to complete the sprint double at the World U20 Championships and the first South African to achieve the feat. Notably, Walaza edged Australia’s own sprint prodigy Gout Gout to claim the 200m title, setting the stage for a new rivalry over the most exciting sprint prospect. The two have been trying to outdo one another ever since and following Walaza’s exploits at the AGN, Gout sent a message of his own the next day.

Competing at the U20 division at the Queensland athletics championships in Brisbane, Gout Gout clocked 10.39 seconds in the 100 m heat and 10.38 in the finals. His top legal time remains at 10.17s  “It’s one of the top 10 times of my career, so I couldn’t be happier,” Gout said afterward, but his best was yet to come.

He also claimed the U20 200 m crown in a wind-assisted 19.98 seconds at the Queensland state championships on Sunday –the first sub-20 run in Australian sprint history. Although the tailwind exceeded legal limits, his legal 20.05-second heat time stands as the fastest 200m recorded this year. This places him milliseconds behind Usain Bolt’s 19.93-second mark at the same age.

Within a span of 48 hours, the two young sprinters claimed the world’s lead in 100 m and 200 m, which sets up the debate about who is better, and social media was all for it.

Fans were quick to tout their respective favorites and draw comparisons. One fan wrote, “Others were telling about Gout Gout. Walaza is way better than him. He will continue to improve. A future Olympic Star. Bayanda.”

One fan is excited at the prospect of these two possibly competing again at the Tokyo World Athletics Championships writing, “Walaza vs Gout …part 2. My money is on (South African flag). Another fan came down on Gout’s recent achievement comparing it to Walaza. “Walaza ran 9.99 without wind assistance… All Gout Gout’s fast times in Australia are wind aided… Why?”

Well, the fans seem all in for Gout vs Walaza II. Clocking the fastest times in 100 m and 200 m in a matter of hours, both the sprinters are keen to take their rivalry to the next level, one that could define the track and field competition for years to come. Meanwhile, these aren’t the only two young standout names in the sprint world.

US has proteges of its own in track and field

The United States isn’t left behind with emerging sprinters like Quincy Wilson making significant strides. Wilson set the fourth-fastest time ever recorded by an under-18 sprinter in the 100m at the Australian All Schools Athletics Championships in December 2024 with a scorching time of 10.04.

Not to mention, 21-year-old Letsile Tebogo got the appreciation from legend Usain Bolt himself when the Botswana sprinter won the Men’s World Athlete of the Year by World Athletics.

Apart from them, the sprinting world is witnessing a rise of other young talents. UK’s Divine Iheme became the fastest 15-year-old breaking the long-standing record of 6.74 set by J-Mee Samuels back in 2003. In fact, he did it twice, running times of 6.71 and 6.72 at the Lee Valley BFTTA Indoor Series in January.

Nigeria’s 18-year-old Samuel Ogazi is another name to watch out for after he qualified for the 400m final at the Paris Olympics,  becoming the first Nigerian to do so in almost four decades to achieve this feat.

What do you think about these new changing track and field records and young talent? Do tell us in the comments below.