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Bayanda Walaza may have paved the way for young African athletes to emulate on loyalty after declining US college offers to stay in South Africa.
Following a groundbreaking 2024 season that saw him become the world's fastest teenager, Bayanda Walaza has turned down numerous offers from US colleges to stay in South Africa.
The 18-year-old was one of the best performers at the recently concluded World U20 Championships in Lima, Peru, where he completed the sprint double, thus becoming the first South African sprinter to attain such a feat in the championship's history.
Noteworthy is that Walaza's exceptional outing in Lima was a follow-up to his brilliant display at the Paris Olympic Games, where he and Nkoana formed part of South Africa's silver medal-winning team in a new African Record of 39.57s.
His brilliant breakout year is a testament to his talent, making him the brightest young sprinter in the world, and no surprise on the radar by top US colleges.
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11:02 - 04.09.2024
World's fastest teenager Bayanda Walaza arrives to a hero's welcome in South Africa following exploits at U20 Championships
18-year-old sprint star Bayanda Walaza was honoured to a hero's welcome in South Africa following his historic feats at the World U20 Championships in Lima.
However, Walaza doesn't believe in needing external involvement or the opportunities provided by American colleges to help improve his talent as his loyalty stays with his grassroots coach and in South Africa.
“I’m planning to go to Tuks, where I’m doing logistics, and I’ll carry on my schooling while I’m continuing with athletics,” he said in an interview with citizen.co.za.
“I’m not going to change coaches because that can cause a lot of difficulties. It’s better to chill with the coach that’s working for me. He made me get two gold medals, and silver at the Olympics, so why must I leave him?
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“That’s one of the reasons, but there are a lot of reasons why I want to stay in Pretoria. I love it.”
Still a high school student at Curro Hazeldean in Pretoria, Walaza wrote a prelim exam between the Olympics and the World U20 Championships, but he missed three other exams due to his recent commitments on the track, which he affirmed won't be a problem to catch up on as he's got the needed support.
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14:11 - 02.09.2024
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“For now it’s causing a lot of stress, but I know I’m going to catch up. I have the facilities to do that and I have teachers who are supporting me, as well as family and friends, so I think it will go very well,” he said.
With Walaza's decision to trust the process and stay in South Africa, he may have paved the way for young African athletes to believe in the system that helped nurture them to stardom instead of chasing the proposed opportunities that come with going abroad on scholarships.
Bayanda Walaza's iconic exploits at the World U20 Championships in Lima
Walaza blazed to the 100m title in 10.19s, finishing ahead of Thailand's Puripol Boonson who clocked 10.22s to win the first-ever medal for Thailand at the World U20 Championships, while pre-championship favourite and Walaza's compatriot Bradley Nkoana settled for the bronze medal in 10.26s.
In the 200m, the 18-year-old produced an even better performance with a stunning run of 20.52s to defeat Australia's highly talented youngster Gout Gout.
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By winning both titles, Walaza became only the fourth athlete in history to complete the sprint double at the World U20 Championships behind the legendary Ato Boldon (1992), ex-Nigerian sprinter Francis Obikwelu (1996), and Christian Malcolm (1998).
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