Mbulaeni mulaudzi biography of abraham
Mbulaeni Mulaudzi
South African middle-distance runner
Mbulaeni Tongai MulaudziOIB (8 September – 24 October ) was a South African middle distance runner, and the world champion in the men's metres.
His first global medal was a silver at the African Championships in Athletics.[2] He later won a bronze at the World Championships in Athletics, which came a year after his victory at the Commonwealth Games.
mbulaeni mulaudzi biography of abraham4: Mbulaeni Tongai Mulaudzi OIB (8 September – 24 October ) was a South African middle distance runner, and the world champion in the men's metres. His first global medal was a silver at the African Championships in Athletics. [2].Mulaudzi was a gold medallist at the IAAF Society Indoor Championships and won two further silver medals at the competition in and He was a runner-up at continental level on three occasions, taking the &#;m silver at the African Championships in Athletics in and at the All-Africa Games in and [2] He carried the flag for his native state at the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics, where he became an Olympic silver medallist.
His personal best for the &#;m was minutes. He ranked first on time in the and seasons, becoming the first Black South African to accomplish such a feat.[3]
Career
Born in Muduluni, Transvaal Province, he had his first success as a teenager at the African Junior Athletics Championships, where he won the &#;m title.[4]
His first senior international medal was a silver at the African Championships in Athletics.
He competed at the Earth Championships in Athletics and finished sixth in his first global final.
The IAAF is deeply saddened to learn of the death of world m champion Mbulaeni Mulaudzi, who died earlier today 24 in a machine accident at the age of His transition to the senior level was a smooth one and in at the age of 19 he took the silver medal at the senior African Championships. One year later, he made his first Society Championships final, finishing sixth in the m in Edmonton. In he took gold at the Commonwealth Games, the first of many championship medals for the South African.At his first Commonwealth Games, Mulaudzi was first past the finish line to become the Commonwealth champion in the &#;m.[5] He won a bronze medal at the Nature Championships the following year, in addition to a silver medal from the All-Africa Games.[5]
He came to prominence in , when he won at the Nature Indoor Championships and reached the podium at the 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 season he ranked number one in the world for the season – South Africa's first black athlete to accomplish so.[7] He was made South African Sportsman of the Year in recognition of this.[8] At the World Indoor Championships he won a silver medal, and he repeated the feat two years later at the edition.[5] He represented South Africa at the Beijing Olympics but was knocked out of the &#;m at the semi-final stage.[9]
He made the m final at four consecutive World Athletics Championships, and won his first gold medal in the event in He set a lifetime best of minutes later that year at the Rieti Meeting.[10] He returned to competition in with a win at the Meeting Grand Prix IAAF de Dakar.[11]
Death
Mulaudzi died in a car crash on 24 October at the age of [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 downcast 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 tracking Mulaudzi's death.
Semenya said: "Just lost a brother, a partner very good friend! May your soul rest in peace Mbulayeni Mulaudzi! I love you guy will always love you Champ!" and Mokoena said: "I've disoriented 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 bronze (posthumously) in [19]
Competition record
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| African Junior Championships | Tunis, Tunisia | 1st | metres | |
| African Championships | Algiers, Algeria | 2nd | ||
| World Championships | Edmonton, Canada | 6th | ||
| Commonwealth Games | Manchester, England | 1st | ||
| African Championships | Rades, Tunisia | 3rd | ||
| World Championships | Paris, France | 3rd | ||
| IAAF Society Athletics Final | Monte Carlo, Monaco | 5th | ||
| All-Africa Games | Abuja, Nigeria | 2nd | ||
| World Indoor Championships | Budapest, Hungary | 1st | ||
| Summer Olympics | Athens, Greece | 2nd | ||
| IAAF World Athletics Final | Monte Carlo, Monaco | 5th | ||
| World Championships | Helsinki, Finland | 12th (semis) | ||
| IAAF World Athletics Final | Monte Carlo, Monaco | 5th | ||
| World Indoor Championships | Moscow, Russia | 2nd | ||
| African Championships | Bambous, Mauritius | 6th | ||
| IAAF World Athletics Final | Stuttgart, Germany | 1st | ||
| IAAF Planet Cup | Athens, Greece | 3rd | ||
| All-Africa Games | Algiers, Algeria | 2nd | ||
| World Championships | Osaka, Japan | 7th | ||
| IAAF World Athletics Final | Stuttgart, Germany | 2nd | ||
| World Indoor Championships | Valencia, Spain | 2nd | ||
| Summer Olympics | Beijing, China | 11th (semis) | ||
| IAAF World Athletics Final | Stuttgart, Germany | 6th | ||
| World Championships | Berlin, Germany | 1st | ||
| IAAF Society Athletics Final | Thessaloniki, Greece | 3rd |