In 2014, when Simon Magakwe became the first South African to break 10 seconds in the 100m dash, nobody could have predicted how much it would change the face of local sprinting.
That performance opened the floodgates, and the countrys fastest men have since raised the bar to a whole new level.
Since 2014, a total of eight SA men have run under 10 seconds, while seven athletes have gone under 20 seconds in the 200m, and Wayde van Niekerk holds the 400m world record of 43.03.
These fast times havent quite equated to all the medals we might have hoped for at major global championships, but we do have some to show for it, in both individual and relay events.
Next generationAnd while the likes of Van Niekerk and Akani Simbine are still among the best in the world, the conveyor belt of talent continues to turn and a new generation of athletes looks set to take the baton, including SA junior 100m record holders Bradley Nkoana and ViweJingqi. But the most promising of all is lanky 20-year-old Benjamin Richardson.
