Simbine, Sekgodisho claim top honors at SA Sport Awards ceremony
Track and field athletes dominate South Africa's annual sports honors ceremony
Akani Simbine stood at the center of South African track and field’s most celebrated night, his 2025 season earning him Sport Star of the Year at the 2026 SA Sport Awards, held Sunday at Sun City resort in the North West. The year that won him the honor was relentless: bronze in the 60m final at the World Athletics Indoor Championships, a gold-medal anchor leg for the national 4x100m relay team at the World Athletics Relays, a place in the 100m final at the World Athletics Championships, and three separate 100m victories across the Diamond League series, one of athletics’ most prestigious competition circuits.
Prudence Sekgodiso matched that intensity in her own discipline. The 800m runner received Sportswoman of the Year after winning gold at the World Athletics Indoor Championships and collecting three podium finishes at Diamond League meetings between January and December of last year. Together, Simbine and Sekgodiso headlined a sweep by track and field athletes across multiple categories, a result that reflects the depth of South African sprint and distance talent during the 2025 competition cycle, which served as the nomination period for the awards.
Additional reference context is available at https://supersport.com/athletics/news/a0ee139a-d6be-4082-8bb3-d209e53fb03e/honoured-simbine-sekgodisho-win-big-at-sa-sport-awards.
Recognition extended beyond the sport’s established names.
Bayanda Walaza, a junior sprinter, earned Junior Sport Star of the Year after winning the men’s 100m and 200m titles at the World University Games and anchoring the national 4x100m relay team to victory at the World Athletics Relays. He also reset the South African U20 men’s 100m record twice during the year, ultimately lowering the national junior mark to 9.94 seconds. His coach, Thabo Matebedi, received Coach of the Year recognition for his work with Walaza and with World Championships finalists Gift Leotlela and Sinesipho Dambile throughout the season.
Para-athletics athletes claimed two of the night’s major honors. Puseletso Mabote, who won the T63 men’s 100m final at the World Para Athletics Championships, was named Sportsman of the Year with a Disability. Simoné Kruger earned the corresponding Sportswoman of the Year with a Disability award after claiming gold in the F38 women’s discus throw at the same championships.
Distance running also drew prominent recognition. Adriaan Wildschutt, who broke multiple national records on both track and road during 2025, received the Minister’s Excellence Recognition award for his outstanding contribution and pursuit of excellence in South African sport. Willie Mtolo, a retired long-distance runner who won the New York Marathon in 1992, was given the Andrew Mlangeni Green Jacket, an honor recognizing his remarkable contribution and lasting impact on South African athletics across a career that spanned decades.
Whether the next generation, led by Walaza’s 9.94 and Matebedi’s growing stable of finalists, can sustain that standard into 2026 is the question the sport now carries forward.
Q&A
What were Akani Simbine's major achievements during the 2025 season that earned him Sport Star of the Year?
Simbine won bronze in the 60m final at the World Athletics Indoor Championships, earned a gold-medal anchor leg for the national 4x100m relay team at the World Athletics Relays, placed in the 100m final at the World Athletics Championships, and won three separate 100m victories across the Diamond League series.
What accomplishments led to Prudence Sekgodiso receiving Sportswoman of the Year?
Sekgodiso won gold at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in the 800m and collected three podium finishes at Diamond League meetings between January and December of last year.
How did Bayanda Walaza establish himself as Junior Sport Star of the Year?
Walaza won the men's 100m and 200m titles at the World University Games, anchored the national 4x100m relay team to victory at the World Athletics Relays, and reset the South African U20 men's 100m record twice, ultimately lowering it to 9.94 seconds.
Which para-athletes received major awards at the 2026 SA Sport Awards?
Puseletso Mabote was named Sportsman of the Year with a Disability after winning the T63 men's 100m final at the World Para Athletics Championships, and Simoné Kruger earned Sportswoman of the Year with a Disability after claiming gold in the F38 women's discus throw at the same championships.