Mbulaeni Mulaudzi

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Mbulaeni Mulaudzi
200px
Mulaudzi at the 2007 World Championships
Personal information
Nationality South African
Born (1980-09-08)8 September 1980
Muduluni, South Africa
Died Error: Need valid death date (first date): year, month, day
Witbank, Mpumalanga, South Africa
Sport
Sport Track
Event(s) 800 metres
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s) 800 metres: 1:42.86[1]
1500 metres: 3:38.5[1]
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  South Africa
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 2004 Athens 800 m
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2009 Berlin 800 m
Bronze medal – third place 2003 Paris 800 m
IAAF World Indoor Championships
Gold medal – first place 2004 Budapest 800 m
Silver medal – second place 2006 Moskva 800 m
Silver medal – second place 2008 Valencia 800 m
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 2002 Manchester 800 m
African Championships
Silver medal – second place 2000 Algiers 800 m
Bronze medal – third place 2002 Rades 800 m
All-Africa Games
Silver medal – second place 2003 Abuja 800 m
Silver medal – second place 2007 Algiers 800 m
Representing Africa
IAAF World Cup
Bronze medal – third place 2006 Athens 800 m

Mbulaeni Tongai Mulaudzi (8 September 1980 – 24 October 2014) was a South African middle distance runner, and the 2009 world champion in the men's 800 metres.

His first global medal was a silver at the 2000 African Championships in Athletics.[2] He later won a bronze at the 2003 World Championships in Athletics, which came a year after his victory at the 2002 Commonwealth Games. Mulaudzi was the gold medallist at the 2004 IAAF World Indoor Championships and won two further silver medals at the competition in 2006 and 2008. He was runner-up at continental level on three occasions, taking the 800 m silver at the African Championships in Athletics in 2000 and at the All-Africa Games in 2003 and 2007.[2] He carried the flag for his native country at the opening ceremony of the 2004 Summer Olympics, where he became an Olympic silver medallist.

His personal best for the 800 m was 1:42.86 minutes. He ranked first on time in the 2006 and 2007 seasons, becoming the first Black South African to achieve such a feat.[3]

Career

Born in Muduluni, Transvaal Province, he had his first success as a teenager at the 1999 African Junior Athletics Championships, where he won the 800 m title.[4]

His first senior international medal was a silver at the 2000 African Championships in Athletics. He competed at the 2001 World Championships in Athletics and finished sixth in his first global final. At his first Commonwealth Games, Mulaudzi was first past the finish line to become the 2002 Commonwealth champion in the 800 m.[5] He won a bronze medal at the 2003 World Championships the following year, in addition to a silver medal from the 2003 All-Africa Games.[5]

He came to prominence in 2004, when he won at the World Indoor Championships and reached the podium at the 2004 Athens Olympics to win an Olympic silver medal.[5] That year he was inducted into the University of Pretoria Sport Hall of fame.[6]

In the 2006 season he ranked number one in the world for the season – South Africa's first black athlete to do so.[7] He was made South African Sportsman of the Year in recognition of this.[8] At the 2006 World Indoor Championships he won a silver medal, and he repeated the feat two years later at the 2008 edition.[5] He represented South Africa at the 2008 Beijing Olympics but was knocked out of the 800 m at the semi-final stage. [9]

He made the 800 m final at four consecutive World Athletics Championships, and won his first gold medal in the event in 2009. He set a lifetime best of 1:42.86 minutes later that year at the Rieti Meeting.[10] He returned to competition in 2010 with a win at the Meeting Grand Prix IAAF de Dakar.[11]

Death

Mulaudzi died in a car crash on 24 October 2014 at the age of 34.[12] He was en route to an Athletics South Africa athletics meeting when his car overturned.[13][14] His death was confirmed by his manager, Peet van Zyl, who said: "Mr Mulaudzi was surely one of the most decorated track athletes that South Africa has ever seen and unfortunately never had the recognition from the federation for all his achievements, so it is indeed a sad day."[15] The President of South Africa, Jacob Zuma, noted his death, saying that he was one of the nation's most talented athletes. Presidential spokesperson Mac Maharaj mirrored this, saying that the nation had lost a hero and that Mulaudzi had flown the South African flag through his athletics.[13] The International Association of Athletics Federations, the governing body for the sport, said it was "deeply saddened" to hear of Mulaudzi's death.[16] The International Olympic Committee expressed sadness and sympathy towards the sports family of South Africa and Mulaudzi's friends and family.[17] South African athletes Caster Semenya and Khotso Mokoena used Twitter to express their emotions following Mulaudzi's death. Semenya said: "Just lost a brother, a friend very good friend! May your soul rest in peace Mbulayeni Mulaudzi! I love you man will always love you Champ!" and Mokoena said: "I've lost a brother, a friend, and a national hero! Sad news to my soul..."[18]

Personal bests

Honours

Mulaudzi was awarded the Order of Ikhamanga in 2015.[19]

Competition record

Year Competition Venue Position Notes
1999 African Junior Championships Tunis, Tunisia 1st 800 metres
2000 African Championships Algiers, Algeria 2nd 1:46.28
2001 World Championships Edmonton, Canada 6th 1:45.01
2002 Commonwealth Games Manchester, England 1st 1:46.32
African Championships Rades, Tunisia 3rd 1:46.20
2003 World Championships Paris, France 3rd 1:44.90
IAAF World Athletics Final Monte Carlo, Monaco 5th
All-Africa Games Abuja, Nigeria 2nd 1:46.44
2004 World Indoor Championships Budapest, Hungary 1st 1:45.71
Summer Olympics Athens, Greece 2nd 1:44.61
IAAF World Athletics Final Monte Carlo, Monaco 5th
2005 World Championships Helsinki, Finland 12th (semis) 1:45.73
IAAF World Athletics Final Monte Carlo, Monaco 5th
2006 World Indoor Championships Moscow, Russia 2nd 1:47.16
African Championships Bambous, Mauritius 6th 1:47.94
IAAF World Athletics Final Stuttgart, Germany 1st
IAAF World Cup Athens, Greece 3rd 1:45.14
2007 All-Africa Games Algiers, Algeria 2nd 1:45.54
World Championships Osaka, Japan 7th 1:47.52
IAAF World Athletics Final Stuttgart, Germany 2nd
2008 World Indoor Championships Valencia, Spain 2nd 1:44.91
Summer Olympics Beijing, China 11th (semis) 1:46.24
IAAF World Athletics Final Stuttgart, Germany 6th
2009 World Championships Berlin, Germany 1st 1:45.29
IAAF World Athletics Final Thessaloniki, Greece 3rd

References

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External links

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ FACTBOX-The late Mbulaeni Mulaudzi. Reuters (2014-10-24). Retrieved on 2014-10-25.
  4. ↑ African Junior Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2014-10-25.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ http://web.up.ac.za/default.asp?ipkCategoryID=10413 Hall of fame Retrieved 25 June 2011
  7. ↑ From dusty Village to World Traveler - Mbulaeni Mulaudzi. Time to Run. Retrieved on 2009-08-23.
  8. ↑ Winners. SASports Awards. Retrieved on 2014-10-25.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Former world 800m champion Mulaudzi dies. IAAF (2014-10-24). Retrieved on 2014-10-25.
  11. ↑ Turner, Chris (2010-04-24). Wlodarczyk blasts out 75.13m release in Dakar – IAAF World Challenge. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-04-25.
  12. ↑ SA Olympic athlete killed in car crash
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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