Mbulaeni Tongai Mulaudzi (8 September 1980 – 24 October 2014) was a South African

middle distance runner Middle-distance running events are track races longer than sprints, up to 3000 metres. The standard middle distances are the 800 metres, 1500 metres and mile run, although the 3000 metres may also be classified as a middle-distance event. The 1 ...

, and the 2009

world champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

in the men's

800 metres The 800 metres, or meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since the ...

. His first global medal was a silver at the 2000 African Championships in Athletics. He later won a bronze at the

2003 World Championships in Athletics The 9th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held from 23 August to 31 August 2003 in the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, France. Men's results ...

, which came a year after his victory at the

2002 Commonwealth Games The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002 were held in Manchester, England, from 25 July to 4 August, 2002. The 2002 Games were to be hosted in the United Kingdom to coin ...

. Mulaudzi was the gold medallist at the

2004 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 10th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) were held in the Budapest Arena, Hungary between March 5 and March 7, 2004. A total off 139 countries were re ...

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 The African Championships in Athletics is a continental athletics event organized by the Confederation of African Athletics (CAA), the continental association for the sport in Africa. Since its inaugural edition in 1979 it was at first organised ...

in 2000 and at the

All-Africa Games The African Games, formally known as the All-Africa Games or the Pan African Games, are a continental multi-sport event held every four years, organized by the African Union (AU) with the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (AN ...

in 2003 and 2007. He carried the flag for his native country at the opening ceremony of the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

, 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.

Career

Born in Muduluni,

Transvaal Province The Province of the Transvaal ( af, Provinsie van Transvaal), commonly referred to as the Transvaal (; ), was a province of South Africa from 1910 until 1994, when a new constitution subdivided it following the end of apartheid. The name "Trans ...

, he had his first success as a teenager at the

1999 African Junior Athletics Championships The 1999 African Junior Athletics Championships was the fourth edition of the biennial, continental athletics tournament for African athletes aged 19 years or younger. It was held in Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note ...

, where he won the 800 m title. His first senior international medal was a silver at the 2000 African Championships in Athletics. He competed at the

2001 World Championships in Athletics The 8th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada between 3 August and 12 August and was the first time the event ...

and finished sixth in his first global final. At his first

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

, Mulaudzi was first past the finish line to become the 2002 Commonwealth champion in the 800 m. 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 The 8th All Africa Games were 5–17 October 2003 in Abuja, Nigeria. 53 countries participated in 23 sports. The main venue was the newly constructed Abuja Stadium. The organizing committee was headed by Nigerian Amos Adamu. Venues * Moshood ...

. He came to prominence in 2004, when he won at the World Indoor Championships and reached the podium at the

2004 Athens Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

to win an Olympic silver medal. That year he was inducted into the

University of Pretoria The University of Pretoria ( af, Universiteit van Pretoria, nso, Yunibesithi ya Pretoria) is a multi-campus public university, public research university in Pretoria, the administrative and de facto capital of South Africa. The university was ...

Sport Hall of fame. In the 2006 season he ranked number one in the world for the season – South Africa's first black athlete to do so. He was made South African Sportsman of the Year in recognition of this. At the 2006 World Indoor Championships he won a silver medal, and he repeated the feat two years later at the 2008 edition. He represented South Africa at the

2008 Beijing Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...

but was knocked out of the 800 m at the semi-final stage. He made the 800 m final at four consecutive

World Athletics Championships The World Athletics Championships (until 2019 known as the World Championships in Athletics) are a biennial athletics competition organized by World Athletics (formerly IAAF, International Association of Athletics Federations). Alongside the Ol ...

, and won his first gold medal in the event in

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

. He set a lifetime best of 1:42.86 minutes later that year at the

Rieti Meeting The Rieti Meeting is an annual athletics event at the Stadio Raul Guidobaldi in Rieti, Italy that takes place in late August or early September. Previously one of the IAAF Grand Prix events, it is now part of the IAAF World Challenge. It was fi ...

. He returned to competition in 2010 with a win at the

Meeting Grand Prix IAAF de Dakar A meeting is when two or more people come together to discuss one or more topics, often in a formal or business setting, but meetings also occur in a variety of other environments. Meetings can be used as form of group decision making. Defini ...

Death

Mulaudzi died in a car crash on 24 October 2014 at the age of 34. He was en route to an

Athletics South Africa Athletics South Africa is the national governing body for the sport of athletics (including track and field, cross country, road running and racewalking) in South Africa, recognised by the IAAF, and also a member of Confederation of African Athle ...

athletics meeting when his car overturned. 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." The

President of South Africa The president of South Africa is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of South Africa. The president heads the executive branch of the Government of South Africa and is the commander-in-chief of the South African Nationa ...

Jacob Zuma Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma (; born 12 April 1942) is a South African politician who served as the fourth president of South Africa from 2009 to 2018. He is also referred to by his initials JZ and clan name Msholozi, and was a former anti-aparth ...

, noted his death, saying that he was one of the nation's most talented athletes. Presidential spokesperson

Mac Maharaj Sathyandranath Ragunanan "Mac" Maharaj (born 22 April 1936 in Newcastle, Natal) is a retired South African politician affiliated with the African National Congress, academic and businessman of Indian origin. He was the official spokesperson o ...

mirrored this, saying that the nation had lost a hero and that Mulaudzi had flown the South African flag through his athletics. The

International Association of Athletics Federations World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body for ...

, the governing body for the sport, said it was "deeply saddened" to hear of Mulaudzi's death. The

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

expressed sadness and sympathy towards the sports family of South Africa and Mulaudzi's friends and family. South African athletes

Caster Semenya Mokgadi Caster Semenya OIB (born 7 January 1991) is a South African middle-distance runner and winner of two Olympic gold medals and three World Championships in the women's 800 metres. She first won gold at the World Championships in 2009 ...

and

Khotso Mokoena Godfrey Khotso Mokoena (born 6 March 1985 in Heidelberg, South Africa) is a South African athlete who specializes in the long jump and triple jump. Early life and family He started his school education at Shalimar Ridge Primary School in Heide ...

used

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

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..."

Personal bests

– 1:42.86 min (2009) *800 metres (indoor) – 1:44.91 min (2008) *

1000 metres The 1000 metres is an uncommon middle-distance running event in track and field competitions. The 1000 yards, an imperial alternative, was sometimes also contested. All-time top 25 *h = hand timed *i = indoor performance *A = affected by ...

– 2:15.86 min (2007) *

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletic ...

– 3:38.55 min (2008)

Honours

Mulaudzi was awarded the

Order of Ikhamanga The Order of Ikhamanga is a South African honour. It was instituted on 30 November 2003 and is granted by the President of South Africa for achievements in arts, culture, literature, music, journalism, and sports (which were initially recognised b ...

(posthumously) in 2015.

Competition record

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mulaudzi, Mbulaeni 1980 births 2014 deaths African Games medalists in athletics (track and field) African Games silver medalists for South Africa Athletes (track and field) at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games gold medallists for South Africa Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of South Africa Olympic silver medalists for South Africa Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field) People from Makhado Local Municipality Recipients of the Order of Ikhamanga Road incident deaths in South Africa South African male middle-distance runners University of Pretoria alumni World Athletics Championships athletes for South Africa World Athletics Championships medalists Athletes (track and field) at the 2003 All-Africa Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2007 All-Africa Games World Athletics Indoor Championships winners World Athletics Championships winners Sportspeople from Limpopo