2026: A Season That Moved Us Forward

The inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest brought the 2026 track season to a close — and with it, a year that marked a significant step forward for Newton Agency and our athletes.

There were national titles and records, African champions, a Commonwealth Games gold medal, a World U20 medal, personal bests and breakthrough performances. Our athletes raced across Africa, Europe and the international circuit, increasingly finding themselves not simply participating in the biggest competitions in the sport, but competing at the sharp end of them.

Perhaps more than any individual result, that is what defined 2026: progression.

A Strong Start at Home

The signs were there early in the season.

Gift Leotlela retained his South African 100m title, while Sinesipho Dambile won the national 200m title for a third consecutive year. Dambile’s 20.02 victory reinforced the consistency that has become a hallmark of his racing, while Gift once again showed his quality over the shorter sprint.

Behind them, another generation was already beginning to make its presence felt.

Naeem Jack continued his development as one of South Africa’s most exciting young athletes, lowering the South African U20 record in the 110m hurdles to 13.02. He would later finish second to Dambile in the senior national 200m final — another indication of the depth beginning to emerge in the Newton sprint group.

These early performances provided the foundation for what was to come internationally.

African Champions

The African Championships in Accra became the first major demonstration of the depth within the Newton group.

Kelvin Loti produced a superb finish to win the men’s 800m and become African champion, while Karabo More delivered one of the performances of the championships to claim gold in the women’s 1500m. Racing in difficult conditions, Karabo held her nerve in a close finish to secure one of the biggest titles of her career.

The sprint group also featured strongly. Rosemary Chukwuma took silver in both the 100m and 200m, while Thelma Davies claimed bronze in the 100m and later helped Liberia to silver in the 4x100m relay. Brian Komen added another medal for the Newton group with bronze in the men’s 1500m.

It was a championship that reflected something increasingly evident across the season: Newton athletes were competing successfully across countries, disciplines and distances. From the 100m through to the 1500m, our athletes were standing on continental podiums.

The Next Generation Arrives

While the senior athletes were building momentum internationally, 2026 also gave us plenty of reason to be excited about what comes next.

At the World Athletics U20 Championships in Eugene, Matodzi Ndou reached the podium in the 400m hurdles, claiming bronze in 49.90 against some of the best young hurdlers in the world.

His medal was another important marker for a young group beginning to transition onto the international stage.

Seventeen-year-old Mukona Manavhela also took a significant step in his young career. After joining Newton Agency, the junior sprint talent signed with global sportswear brand On — recognition not simply of what he has already achieved, but of the potential others see in where his career can go. Mukona had already established himself as one of South Africa’s leading young sprinters, with personal bests of 10.14 in the 100m and 20.45 in the 200m during the season.

For us, those moments matter. Developing athletes is not only about the next result. It is about helping talented young athletes build careers that can grow sustainably from junior promise into senior international performance.

A Commonwealth Champion

The Commonwealth Games provided the major championship centrepiece of the season — and produced one of its defining moments.

Sinesipho Dambile arrived in Glasgow having already shown throughout the year that he was capable of competing with the best 200m runners in the world.

In the Commonwealth Games final, he delivered.

Dambile won gold in 19.96, claiming his first senior major championship title and becoming the first South African man to win the Commonwealth Games 200m crown.

It was a breakthrough result, but perhaps more importantly, it did not feel like an isolated performance. It was the culmination of the progression we had been watching throughout the season.

Gift Leotlela came agonisingly close to adding another sprint medal, producing a season-best 9.91 to finish fourth in the 100m final.

And the strength of the Newton representation extended well beyond the sprints. Brian Komen, Tshepiso Masalela, Kelvin Loti, Daniel Ebenyo, Andrew Kiptoo and Karabo More all reached finals during the Games, with Karabo doing so in the 1500m on her Commonwealth Games debut.

For the agency, it was one of those championships that showed both the quality and breadth of the athletes we are privileged to work with.

Dambile: A Breakthrough Season

Commonwealth gold may have been the headline moment, but Dambile's season was much bigger than one race.

2026 was his debut Diamond League season, and almost immediately he showed that he belonged at that level.

He produced world-class performances throughout the international circuit and became a regular presence in major 200m fields. By the end of the season, he had progressed all the way to his first Diamond League Final, where he finished second.

Budapest provided one final test.

At the inaugural Ultimate Championships — a season-ending event bringing together many of the fastest athletes in the world — Dambile finished fourth in the 200m final.

National champion. Commonwealth champion. Diamond League finalist. Fourth at the Ultimate Championships.

Taken together, those results tell the real story of his year: not one breakthrough performance, but an athlete establishing himself consistently at world-class level.

Gift: Back Among the World's Best

Gift Leotlela’s season followed a similarly important trajectory.

After defending his national 100m title, he entered his first Diamond League season and quickly demonstrated that he was ready to compete at that level.

Then came a significant milestone: his first Diamond League victory.

It was an important moment for Gift, but again, the significance of his season came from what followed. He continued to line up against the world's leading sprinters and continued to compete.

His 9.91 at the Commonwealth Games was his fastest performance of the season, and he went on to qualify for his first Diamond League Final.

At the Ultimate Championships in Budapest he once again found himself in a world-class 100m final, running 9.98 to finish sixth.

Gift broke 10 seconds repeatedly across the season. More importantly, he re-established himself as a consistent presence at the top end of international 100m racing.

For an athlete whose career has already included both extraordinary highs and difficult setbacks, 2026 represented something particularly valuable: continuity, consistency and a return to the very highest level.

Bayanda: The Story Was Still Moving Forward

Bayanda Walaza’s year unfolded differently.

An injury interrupted the early part of his season and meant he missed the Commonwealth Games. For a young athlete coming into the year with significant expectations, it would have been easy for the season to become defined by what he had missed.

Instead, the second half of his year became about what came next.

Once back racing, Bayanda continued to lower the ceiling on what he could do. He ran 9.89 in Slovakia — a major personal breakthrough — before matching that time again in Serbia later in the season.

Breaking 9.90 once can be a breakthrough.

Doing it again begins to look like a new level.

At only 20, Bayanda ended 2026 with further evidence that his transition from exceptional junior to world-class senior sprinter is firmly underway.

Karabo: Taking Her Place

Karabo More's season deserves particular mention because her progression ran quietly but consistently through some of the biggest moments of the year.

Her African Championship gold in the 1500m was a major achievement in its own right. She then carried that confidence into the Commonwealth Games, where she reached the final on debut.

For a young middle-distance athlete, these experiences matter. Racing well at home is one thing; learning to navigate championship rounds, international fields and the demands of senior competition is another.

Across 2026, Karabo showed that she is increasingly comfortable in that environment — not simply gaining experience, but becoming competitive within it.

From Potential to Belonging

By the time the season reached the Diamond League Final and then Budapest for the Ultimate Championships, something had changed.

At the beginning of a career, athletes often talk about wanting the opportunity to race against the best in the world.

In 2026, a number of our athletes moved beyond that point.

Gift and Dambile completed their debut Diamond League seasons as Diamond League finalists. Dambile became a Commonwealth champion. Gift won his first Diamond League race. Bayanda ran 9.89 twice. Karabo became an African champion and Commonwealth finalist. Kelvin Loti became African champion. Our junior group produced records, international medals and major sponsorship opportunities.

The important part is not simply the number of results.

It is what those results represent.

Athletes moving from promise to performance. From making teams to making finals. From being invited into world-class fields to knowing they belong in them.

There will always be another season, another target and another level to reach. High-performance sport doesn't allow anyone to stand still for very long.

But 2026 gave us plenty to be proud of.

It was a season of African excellence, of young athletes emerging and established athletes taking another step forward.

Most of all, it was a season that showed us where we are going.

And we are excited about what comes next.