The 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo have already delivered a whirlwind of drama, speed and history.

From breathtaking sprints to record-shattering vaults, the track and field stage has seen African athletes shine brightly while South Africa continues to chase its podium breakthrough.

South Africa’s flashes of brilliance, a record in the books

South Africa came into Tokyo with a squad of 49, full of ambition and proven names. The first major headline belonged to the mixed 4×400m relay team, who smashed the African record in their heat with a slick 3:11.16 , bettering Kenya’s long-standing continental mark. Gardeo Isaacs, Miranda Coetzee, Leendert Koekemoer and Zeney van der Walt carried the baton with authority, rewriting history in the process. Though they eventually finished sixth in the final, the message was clear: South African relays are no longer outsiders, but serious contenders.

In the sprints, Gift Leotlela made the stadium sit up with a scorching 9.87s personal best in the 100m heats, one of the fastest times ever by a South African. Alongside him, veteran Akani Simbine advanced smoothly through the rounds. The final, however, proved unforgiving. Jamaica’s resurgence saw SA narrowly miss the medals: Leotlela crossed fifth in 9.95s, while Simbine placed seventh in 10.04s. The speed is there, the consistency is brewing, but the podium remains elusive.

Eyes now turn to Zakithi Nene, a 400m runner in strong form this season, and other middle-distance hopefuls like Tshepo Tshite. The team still has opportunities to turn flashes of excellence into medals before Tokyo draws to a close.

Africa’s golden touch

While South Africa waits for its medal moment, the wider African continent has already stamped its authority.

●Alphonce Simbu made history for Tanzania by winning the country’s first-ever World Championships gold medal in the marathon. His victory was both symbolic and sensational, proving that new chapters in African endurance running are still being written.

●Kenya’s Beatrice Chebet produced one of the performances of the championships, storming the last lap to claim her maiden 10,000m world title in 30:37.61.

●Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay, the reigning champion, was forced to settle for bronze, while Italy’s Nadia Battocletti broke her national record for silver.

●In the women’s 100m hurdles, Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan was again in the spotlight, this time taking silver behind Switzerland’s Ditaji Kambundji, who clocked a stunning national-record 12.24s. Amusan’s consistency at the highest level shows that African hurdlers continue to set the standard.

Global stars and world records

Of course, no World Championships is complete without its global icons. Sweden’s Mondo Duplantis once again soared into history, clearing 6.30m to break his own world record in the pole vault and secure a third consecutive world title. His domination has become the sport’s gold standard for excellence.

Elsewhere, the men’s 3000m steeplechase delivered high drama as New Zealand’s Geordie Beamish stunned Morocco’s Soufiane El Bakkali, the Olympic and world champion, by just 0.07 seconds. It was a reminder that even African strongholds can be disrupted when tactics and timing align perfectly.

What it all means

For South Africa, Tokyo has been a stage of both promise and frustration. A continental record, a world-class sprinting breakthrough, but still no medals. Yet these performances show that the team is edging closer, building depth, and learning to punch at the sport’s heaviest levels. For Africa at large, the message is louder: the continent remains at the heart of global athletics. From Simbu’s historic marathon gold to Chebet’s distance heroics and Amusan’s hurdles brilliance, African athletes continue to define championships and inspire futures.

And for the global audience, Tokyo 2025 is serving up exactly what was promised. Speed, courage, records rewritten, and a reminder that in athletics, history can be made on any given night.