Latest news with #Universiade
The Citizen
3 hours ago
- Sport
- The Citizen
Pillay bags 400m gold in Germany
Brentwood Park resident Lythe Pillay delivered a golden performance for South Africa at the Rhine Ruhr FISU World University Games in Germany, storming to victory in the men's 400m final with a season's best time of 44.84 seconds. The 22-year-old sprinter followed up his individual success by helping Team South Africa secure silver in the 4x400m mixed relay. He anchored the team to a podium finish, capping off a standout performance at the multi-sport event. 'It was a good feeling. I came into the champs hoping to save the season, especially by securing qualification for the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo,' said Pillay. 'The heats gave me time to rediscover my race and stride in the build-up to the final. The final went really well. I'm chuffed with the time. Winning the medal for my university and country was a big bonus.' Pillay's impressive showing at the Universiade qualified him for the Tokyo World Championships in the individual 400m, having already secured qualification in the relay events. 'Honestly, I do feel like I messed up my exchange in the relay. But I'm glad I was able to put us back into the silver medal position. The vibe was great, the chemistry was cool, and we had a great team. We all supported each other.' After a rollercoaster season that included injury setbacks, the 2022 World U20 400m champion found the FISU Games to be the perfect platform to rediscover his form. His 44.84 finish was the fifth fastest of his career and the quickest since the 44.58 he ran at the Monaco Diamond League in 2023. The Arbor Primary alum said the performance was a major step forward in his Tokyo preparations. 'It was a massive confidence booster. It helped me rediscover my racing again and find that sweet spot, as well as my strengths and weaknesses. It was nice to find that fifth gear, go back to training and further refine our approach heading into Tokyo,' said Pillay. Now that qualification for Tokyo is secured, the 2024 national 400m champion will shift focus to training and may compete in a few events before jetting off to the World Championships, which take place from September 13 to 21 at the Japan National Stadium. 'We're glad to be back running times my coach and I know I'm capable of. We're looking forward to the champs and doing damage in both the individual and relay events.' Also Read: Pillay and team earn gold at world relays Also Read: WATCH: Pillay on course to defend title at nationals
New Straits Times
a day ago
- Sport
- New Straits Times
Malaysian athletes show promise at WUG despite missing target
ESSEN: Malaysia wrapped up their campaign at the Rhine-Ruhr World University Games (WUG) in Germany with just two medals — a silver in swimming and a bronze in badminton. Khiew Hoe Yean ended a 34-year wait for Malaysia in the pool by bagging silver in the men's 400m freestyle, while Wong Ling Ching delivered bronze in the women's singles badminton event. Hoe Yean's silver was the country's first swimming medal at the WUG or Universiade since Jeffrey Ong's silver in the men's 1,500m freestyle at the 1991 Sheffield Games. Malaysia sent a 64-strong contingent to compete in six of the 19 sports contested at this year's edition, held across Duisburg and surrounding cities. The modest two-medal haul fell well short of the seven-medal target. Still, there were encouraging signs, particularly in the pool. Hoe Yean not only won silver but also helped set a new national record in the men's 4x200m freestyle relay alongside Arvin Shaun Singh Chahal, Lim Yin Chuen, and Tan Khai Xin. Hoe Yean also broke the national mark in his individual 400m race. Arvin Shaun posted a personal best in the men's 100m freestyle, while in athletics, Nurul Ashikin Abas (women's triple jump), the men's 4x100m, and women's 4x400m relay teams all recorded season-best times. Six Malaysians made it to the finals in their events, four of them in athletics. Among them was Azeem Fahmi, who finished fourth in the men's 100m final. The 21-year-old flag bearer and debutant showed his potential in the blue riband event but also learned how narrow the margins are at the top. The women's recurve archery team also made history by reaching the semi-finals for the first time. Despite missing the medal target, the effort, hunger and composure shown by Malaysia's young athletes against world-class opposition were widely praised. The experience gained is expected to serve them well as they build toward bigger international competitions. The Games ended with a vibrant closing ceremony at Landschaftspark Duisburg-Nord. Japan topped the overall medal table with 34 golds, followed by China (30) and the United States (28). The next edition of the WUG will be hosted by Chungcheong, South Korea, in 2027. - BERNAMA
TimesLIVE
2 days ago
- Sport
- TimesLIVE
Untidy handover costs Bayanda Walaza golden treble in student games finale
Double sprint champion Bayanda Walaza had to settle for the 4x100m silver on Sunday afternoon as South Africa wrapped up their World Student Games campaign by claiming three last medals at the weekend. In the morning rowers Kat Williams and Courtney Westley secured silver in the women's pair, winning the country's only medal outside swimming and athletics. And javelin-thrower Jana van Schalkwyk took bronze in the women's event on Saturday night with a distance of 56.73m. The nation ended seventh on the medals table with six gold, five silver and eight bronze, though they finished fourth on the athletics medals table and fifth in the swimming standings. An untidy final handover from Mthi Mthimkulu to Walaza cost the Mzansi flyers as they ended second behind Korea in the final athletics event of the showpiece. Walaza, the 100m and 200m champion at the Universiade, went into the relay expected to make it three sprint golds, but just when it seemed they were going to make it, the South Africans came unstuck. Kyle Zinn, fifth in the 100m, got off to a good start, with Retshidisitswe Mlenga and Mthimkulu advancing the baton at the front of the race.
TimesLIVE
4 days ago
- Sport
- TimesLIVE
Bayanda Walaza claims Universiade sprint double; last-gasp gold for Smith
Bayanda Walaza claimed the sprint double at the World Student Games in Germany on Thursday as he lifted the 200m crown to add to the 100m title he won earlier in the week. His performance concluded a dramatic night of track and field for South Africa where Aiden Smith snatched the shot-put gold with his final throw of the competition. Walaza, the double sprint king from the 2024 under-20 world championships in Peru, exploded out the blocks with his trademark lightning start and he worked that advantage through the bend into the home straight where he kept his lead to cross the line in 20.63sec, seven-hundredths of a second in front of Spaniard Adria Medero. It was 12 years since Anaso Jobodwana won South Africa's first Universiade sprint double. In the men's shot put, left-handed Smith was languishing well outside the top three with a best throw of 19.23 when he stepped into the circle for his final throw of the night, finding more than an extra metre to claim first place at the death. The mixed 4x400m relay team of Mthi Mthimkulu, Precious Molepo, men's 400m champion Lythe Pillay and Marlie Viljoen won silver ahead of the US, clocking 3min 16.42sec as they ended behind Poland. And Mondray Barnard bagged third place in the men's 110m hurdles in 13.59sec to miss silver by a few thousandths of a second. Earlier, Walaza won his 200m semifinal in 20.76, just one hundredth of a second in front of Medero. It was the second fastest time of the semifinals, with Korean Lee placing first in his heat in 20.73. But it was the South African who found the right gears in the final. Colette Uys, bronze medallist in the women's shot put, ended sixth in the women's discus with a best release of 57.50m. Charné Swart-Du Plessis was sixth in the women's 800m. In the women's 400m hurdles, Hannah van Niekerk was unable to keep up with the leaders of a fast race, slipping back to seventh in 58.02. Even the 56.16 personal best she set earlier in the competition would have earned her only fifth spot. Karmen Fouche ended eighth in the women's hepthathlon, matching the position her mother Maralize Visser achieved at the 1997 edition of this showpiece in Sicily, with fewer than 20 points separating them. Fouche amassed 5,783 and Visser 5,765. Gabriella Marais, who won the women's 100m bronze, was unable to progress beyond the semifinals of the women's 200m. South Africa was lying seventh on the medals table with 16 medals, comprising six gold, three silver and seven bronze.
TimesLIVE
6 days ago
- Sport
- TimesLIVE
Bayanda Walaza wins Universiade 100m crown on profitable day for SA
Bayanda Walaza became the third South African to win the World Student Games 100m crown as he claimed South Africa's third gold medal of the 2025 showpiece in Germany on Tuesday night. The world junior champion crossed the line in 10.16sec as he downed Puripol Boonson of Thailand, the same man he beat at the under-20 global competition in Peru last year. Anaso Jobodwana was the first South African to win this crown in 2013 and Akani Simbine followed in 2015 — and now there's 19-year-old Walaza, who has added the Universiade title to his age-group crowns and Olympic 4x100m silver medal. But it wasn't all plain sailing for the Tshwane University of Technology student, who survived anxious moments in the semifinals. Walaza escaped a false start after one of his rivals twitched in his blocks before his own indiscretion. Then the field was called back for a faulty start and when they finally got under way for real at the third firing of the gun, Walaza didn't get away as cleanly as normal. But he did enough to win his heat by one-hundredth of a second. He made no mistake in the final to cap a profitable day for South Africa with no fewer than four medals on the day. In the women's 100m Gabriella Marais ended third in 10.51, seven-hundredths of a second behind Australia winner Georgia Harris. Colette Uys took bronze in the women's shot put with a heave of 17.34m, just 1cm in front of compatriot Mine de Klerk. Olivia Nel landed her third medal of the gala as she claimed bronze in the women's 50m backstroke in 27.91sec, breaking her own African record set earlier in the competition. Then she won the first semifinal heat of the women's 50m freestyle, clocking 24.96, the second-fastest time of the evening. Nel's podium finish added to the two bronze medals claimed in relay races, one of which she won alongside twin Georgia, in the mixed 4x100m freestyle relay.
