TimesLIVE's daily 'Today in SA sport history' feature looks back at September 9, highlighting a past performance in which former Springbok winger Bryan Habana proved decisive against Samoa, scoring tries in a memorable encounter. According to the publication's retrospective, Habana ensured a difficult outing for the Samoan side. The piece forms part of a regular series revisiting notable moments and achievements by South African athletes and teams on this date in sporting history.

South African cricketer Jordan Hermann scored a world-record-equalling 150 on his Proteas one-day international debut in Windhoek, and afterwards thanked his girlfriend, describing her as a 'good luck charm.' According to IOL, Hermann credited her presence as a source of fortune following his record-equalling innings. The feat marks a notable start to his international career with South Africa's ODI side.

A 66-year-old American man has made medical history after living 271 days with a genetically modified pig kidney, according to Tori.ng. Doctors successfully kept the transplanted organ functioning inside his body for nearly nine months, marking a major milestone in xenotransplantation and offering potential hope for addressing organ donor shortages.

Lionel Messi stated that he is not concerned about his age after becoming the all-time scorer in World Cup history just before his 39th birthday. He achieved this milestone by surpassing Miroslav Klose's record of 16 goals with a first-half goal during Argentina's 2-0 victory over Austria in Dallas, where he scored another goal as well.

Lionel Messi set nine new FIFA World Cup records during Argentina's recent victory against Cape Verde, surpassing the achievements of both Pelé and Kylian Mbappé. This performance further cements Messi's legacy in football history.

According to The Citizen Sport, many of the world's top athletes, including icons like Messi, Ronaldo, Hamilton, and the Williams sisters, continue to excel in their sports despite being in their 40s. This highlights the notion that age may not be a barrier to achieving elite performance in athletics.