Real rivalries in South African female athletics are a rarity. One athlete has dominated each event for a few years now, but things are changing, judging by the World Athletics Rankings. 

Tuks's Zeney van der Walt is, for now, the second-fastest 400m-hurdler in the world, having clocked 55.36s. Taylon Bieldt (Tuks) is the fourth fastest, having run 55.91s. 

The Tuks Sports Science student, Marione Fourie, has so far recorded the seventh-fastest time in the 100m-hurdles running 13.10s. Bieldt's 13.15s is the ninth-fastest in the world. 

Interestingly, the 23-year-old Bieldt seems to be the one who is instrumental in reviving rivalries. She has set new personal bests in both hurdling events in the last two weeks. Her speedy heroics led to Van der Walt running the second-fastest time of her career and Fourie a personal best.

Bieldt's performance is unique. In South African athletics, it is not often that one athlete excels in both the 100m-hurdles and the 400m-hurdles.  

Ina van Rensburg clocked 13.09s in 1986 in the 100m-hurdles. While her personal best time in the 400m-hurdles was 55.81s. Surita Febbraio-Loots ran 13.10s in the 100m-hurdles in 2001 and 54.05s in the 400m-hurdles (2003).

Bieldt has the distinction of being one of the athletes who seem to get faster with age. Since 2018, she has improved her 100m-hurdles time by 0.56s. In the 400m-hurdles, she improved by 1.71s in the last two years. 

In a strange way, the Covid-virus positively impacted Bieldt's athletics career. Until 2020, Bieldt specialised in running the 100m-hurdles, but she then decided to switch events. Last year she got sick just before she was meant to fly out to Europe to compete. 

"I did not realise how badly the Covid-virus had affected my lungs until my first 400m-hurdles race. I could not keep up with the international athletes. It was my agent who suggested that I should try to run a 100m-hurdles race. I did, and to my surprise, I did not only win, but I also set a 
personal best running 13.33s. It must have been muscle memory kicking in."

The Tuks athlete ascribes her continuous improvement to a passion for hurdles racing. 

"I love it. I don't consider myself a 100m-hurdler or a 400m-hurdler. I am a hurdler. Theoretically, running the 100m-hurdles will not make me a better 400m-hurdlers and vice versa. It is two completely different races. I guess I am lucky that my training is good enough to do both."

If forced to choose, Bieldt will run the 400m-hurdles.

"My mom, who is my coach, gets quite excited by the 100m-hurdles, but I believe I got greater potential in the longer event. But I am still waiting to run that perfect race. If I do, I know I can dip under 55 seconds. It is a more significant achievement in international athletics than running sub 13 seconds in the 100m-hurdles.

"The ultimate would be if I can dip under 13 seconds in the 100m-hurdles and 55 seconds in the 400m-hurdles. The day I do, I will be super . . . super excited. I probably cry because I have achieved something remarkable.

"It is why I am excited about what is happening in South African women's athletics. I think we got a rivalry going. Personally, I don't mind who wins. All that matters is running fast times."