Four South African athletics stars who won’t be hunting a medal at Commonwealth Games

Long jump ace Luvo Manyonga reclaimed the national title for the first time in seven years. The former Olympic silver medallist is enjoying a triumpant return to competition. The 2026 Commonwealth Gameswill feature a leaner programme than previous editions, with just 10 sports on the schedule compared to the 19 contested in Birmingham four years ago.

The reduced programme, coupled with stringent selection criteria and South Africa’s growing depth in several disciplines, has resulted in a smallerTeam SA contingent heading to Glasgow. While the 112 athletes selected boast genuine medal potential, there are several notable absentees who, under different circumstances, could also have been challenging for podium places. Between them, the quartet of Bayanda Walaza, Luvo Manyonga, Leendert Koekemoer and Antonio Alkana includes an Olympic medallist, a world champion, an African record-holder and one of the fastest sprinters in the world this season.

No omission is likely to attract more attention than that of Walaza. The 20-year-old sprint sensation underlined his immense talent this week by clocking a blistering 9.89 seconds over 100m in Slovakia, making him the joint fifth-fastest man in the world this season and one of the quickest South Africans in history. The Olympic 4x100m relay silver medallist looked destined to become one of Team SA’s biggest medal hopes, but a hamstring injury during the Commonwealth Games qualifying period disrupted his campaign.