24 Aug 2026

With the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship fast approaching, elite sprinters are hitting top gear at just the right time, fuelled by Collen Kebinatshipi’s blazing 43.59-second performance in Silesia, Poland and Letsile Tebogo’s dominant bend-running display in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Whenever Kebinatshipi steps onto the athletics track, records seem to shatter. It comes as no surprise that athletics pundits are now eagerly waiting for him to lower the World Record.  Returning to action after a six-week competitive break, the 400m runner made a resounding statement at the Silesia Diamond League meeting in Poland, clocking a Meeting Record of 43.59 seconds. 

Although Kebinatshipi downplays the mounting World Record conversations, experts strongly believe he might stage an assault on the historic mark at the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship scheduled to take place in Budapest, Hungary, from September 11-13. 

In the same Silesia race, his compatriot Bayapo Ndori, who has been side-lined by an injury, finished eighth after crossing the finish line in 45.18 seconds as he continues his journey back to peak fitness.

Meanwhile, at the Lausanne Diamond League meeting in Switzerland, sprinting sensation, Tebogo stepped onto the track to sample the tactical adjustments he has been finetuning with his coach. 

He cruised to victory in the 200m race with a time of 19.87 seconds, a performance that has sent a clear message to his competitors that he has fully mastered running the bend. 

In the middle-distance category, Oratile Nowe finished ninth in the women’s 800-metre event, clocking a commendable time of 2:00.89.

The momentum extended all the way to Asia, where the national flag was hoisted equally high at the World Athletics Continental Tour Silver meet in Bhubaneswar, India after up and coming 400m runner, Justice Oratile stormed to victory with a time of 45.35 seconds on Saturday. 

Oratile displayed immense composure to hold off South Africa’s Leendert Koekemoer, who finished second in 45.40 seconds. ENDS