Sinesipho Dambile clocked a world lead 20.06 sec as he won the 200m crown at the Gauteng North championships on Friday.
Dambile, also a member of the 4x100m relay team which won gold at World Relays in China in May last year, clocked his 19.97 personal best in the 200m semifinals at the 2025 world championships in Tokyo.
While it’s still early in the season and most of the American and European stars are yet to begin their campaigns, this is Dambile’s quickest start to a season.
Last year he opened with a 20.37.
The 24-year-old, who won the first of his two South African titles in 2022, has struggled with injury over the past few years, though he got through 2025 without major problems.
At the same meet on Friday, Emil Els won the under-18 800m in 1 min 46.52 sec to break the 27-year-old national age-group record.
Second-placed Tiisetso Malungane’s 1:46.62 was also inside the 1:47.67 mark set by Mandla Nkosi in January 1999.
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