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Despite the exceptional range of elite top sprinters at disposal presently, some youngsters rose to the occasion this year with great expectations they can set more records and do much more in the upcoming season.
Track sprint has experienced a tremendous rise in the past few years with the emergence of tremendous talents such as Gout Gout, Torrie Lewis, and Quincy Wilson, who showed they're the future of the sport.
These speedsters and several others proved this season they can rub shoulders with the big guns, producing jaw-dropping times of world-class standards and making their presence known in their debut appearance at the Paris Olympic Games.
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Despite the exceptional range of elite top sprinters at disposal presently, the youngsters rose to the occasion this year with great expectations they can set more records and do much more in the upcoming season.
With this in mind, here are the Top 5 rising sprint stars to watchout for in the 2025 season.
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15:55 - 26.12.2024
Christmas Day Postcards: How Usain Bolt and other track stars celebrated with their families wearing matching pajamas
A compilation of Usain Bolt and other track stars posts on Christmas Day.
5 - Torrie Lewis
The Australian 19-year-old is highly rated as the future of women's sprint. Lewis has won the Australian national titles over 100m and 200m, and ran a blistering 100m time of 11.10s in Canberra to become the national under-20 record holder, surpassing Raelene Boyle's longstanding time of 11.20s set at altitude at the Mexico 1968 Olympic Games, and the women's record holder, erasing Melissa Breen's mark of 11.11s set in 2014.
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However, her moment of fame and world recognition came in April on her Diamond League debut in Xiamen, when she stunned world 100m champion Sha'Carri Richardson with an unexpected win from lane 9, clocking 22.96s to the American's 22.99s.
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07:57 - 18.10.2024
Perfect role model: Sha'Carri Richardson's teen rival picks Dutch star Femke Bol as the best training partner to propel her career
Australian rising speedster has picked Femke Bol over Sha'Carri Richardson as a perfect role model and will relocate to start training with elite Dutch sprint group.
At the Paris Olympic Games, Lewis ran the 200m achieving a personal best of 22.89s to reach the semifinals. A few weeks later at the World U20 Championships in Lima, Peru she won the 200m silver medal, lowering her best to 22.88s.
4 - Bayanda Walaza
South Africa has a culture of producing young African sprinters to become world beaters, and they have found another in Bayanda Walaza.
The 18-year-old had a groundbreaking 2024 season that saw him become the world's fastest teenager, having won the 100m and 200m titles at the World U20 Championships in Lima, Peru, thus writing his name as the first South African sprinter to attain such a feat in the championship history.
In addition, by winning both titles, Walaza became only the fourth sprinter in history to complete the sprint double at the World U20 Championships behind the legendary Ato Boldon (1992), ex-Nigerian sprinter Francis Obikwelu (1996), and Christian Malcolm (1998).
Walaza's exceptional outing in Lima was a follow-up to his brilliant display at the Paris Olympic Games, where he ran the first leg of South Africa's 4x100m silver medal-winning team in a new African Record of 39.57s.
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12:36 - 04.09.2024
Bayanda Walaza chooses loyalty over opportunities as he declines US college offers to stay in South Africa
Bayanda Walaza may have paved the way for young African athletes to emulate on loyalty after declining US college offers to stay in South Africa.
His brilliant breakout year is a testament to his talent, making him the brightest young sprinter in the world, and no surprise on the radar by top US colleges, which he eventually turned down.
3 - Quincy Wilson
At 16, Quincy Wilson's precocious talent has won plaudits following a remarkable 2024 season. The high school student at Bullis became the youngest male athlete to compete at the Olympic Games in U.S. track and field history when he ran the first leg of the qualifying heat in the men's 4x400m relays as the team finished in third place, securing a spot in the final.
In the final, the quartet of Chris Bailey, Vernon Norwood, Bryce Deadmon, and Rai Benjamin carried the team to gold setting an Olympic record of 2:54.43s, which also made the teenager an Olympic champion having competed in the qualifying rounds.
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Wilson earned a spot on Team USA after a historic performance at the U.S. Olympic Trials in June, where he set the 400m U18 world record with 44.59s. He broke the record again in July at the Holloway Pro Classic, clocking 44.20s.
His extraordinary accomplishments and numerous records broken at a young age rank him as one of the next big names in the men's 400m event.
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12:01 - 12.11.2024
'I knew he’d get it done'– Quincy Wilson recalls Rai Benjamin's tense finish against Letsile Tebogo in 4x400m relay
Quincy Wilson reflects on the intense final moments of the Olympic 4x400m relay as Rai Benjamin secured victory.
Not resting on his oars, Wilson already began preparations for the 2025 season by competing in his first individual race since the Paris Olympics at the US Marine Corps Holiday Classic, clocking 1:17.19 in the 600m - the second-fastest U.S. high school boys performance ever.
2 - Samuel Ogazi
Another teenager rated for greatness, Ogazi is one of Nigeria's brightest rising stars his 2024 season's exploits have propelled him to global reach.
His season was highlighted by qualifying for the men's 400m final at the Paris Olympic Games, thus becoming the first Nigerian male quarter-miler in 36 years to achieve such a feat.
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Consequently, the 18-year-old won individual medals at the African Games and African Championships, also helping Nigeria's men's 4x400m and mixed 4x400m teams qualify for the Paris Olympics at the World Relays in Bahamas.
Ogazi clocked a brilliant new personal best of 44.41s in Paris - the fastest ever by a Nigerian U20 and second-fastest in Nigerian history, while going under the sub-45s mark a whooping six times this season.
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19:44 - 06.08.2024
Paris 2024: Samuel Ogazi makes Nigeria's first 400m Olympic final in 36 years, matches the legendary Innocent Eggbunike's record
When the legendary Innocent Egbunike competed at Seoul 1988, Samuel Ogazi wasn't born. The teenager has now become Nigeria's first 400m Olympic finalist in 36 years.
His resume at college level also speaks volumes of his tremendous talent as he became the SEC and NCAA outdoor silver medallist respectively as a freshman student at the University of Alabama.
No wonder Adidas jumped on his prospects by signing him on an NIL deal to be his main sponsor supporting his career.
1 - Gout Gout
Another Australian teenage sensation, Gout Gout is already hyped as Usain Bolt's successor not just based on his physique likened to the legendary Jamaican. Still, his record-breaking times at 16 are impossible to ignore, hence the accolade.
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Recently at the All Schools Championships in Brisbane, Gout blazed his way to the history books by becoming the fastest Australian sprinter in 56 years. He began his exceptional weekend on Friday (December 6th) with an astonishing wind-aided 10.04s to win his 100m heat - the fourth-fastest all-conditions time in Australian history.
In the final, he shattered Sebastian Sultana’s U18 national record of 10.27s to a legal 10.17s, further cementing his name that he's well on the path to being the greatest Australian sprinter in history.
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23:25 - 08.12.2024
'He looks like young me' - Usain Bolt agrees to Gout Gout's comparison following youngster's incredible weekend
Following an incredible weekend by rising Australian teen sensation Gout Gout, Usain shared his thoughts on comparisons with the talented youngster.
Not resting on his oars, Gout returned for the 200m heat on Saturday, first effortlessly running 20.38s - a time good enough for some adult sprinters, before clocking a jaw-dropping 20.04s, which broke Peter Norman's long-standing Australian national record of 20.06s clocked to win silver at the 1968 Olympics.
Gout also won 200m silver medal behind Walaza at the World U20 Championships in Lima, a performance good enough to get attention from Adidas and sign him on a professional deal. It was later revealed the Australian youngster will have winter training with the world's fastest man Noah Lyles ahead of having a memorable 2025 season, especially at the World Championships in Tokyo next summer.
With his unbelievable end to the 2024 season, Gout is definitely a front-runner in the grand scheme to keep an eye on next season and many years to come.
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