Teenage sprint sensation Bayanda Walaza, one of the stars of Team SA’s campaign at the 2024 Paris Olympics, has received more good news with the announcment of the latest Matric results.
The 18-year-old – he turns 19 on 9th February – was part of the men’s 4x100m relay team which secured the silver medal at the Stade de France, with Walaza running the first leg and helping Bradley Nkoana, Shaun Maswanganyi and Akani Simbine to an African record 37.57sec in the process.
At the time Walaza, a pupil at Curro Hazeldean High School in Pretoria, was combining the Paris Olympic experience with his schoolwork in a remarkable juggling act.
This week he received his Matric results and he described the moment as “scary”.
“I had this feeling that I had pased, but then when it’s the build-up to the actual moment the nerves kicked in. I would say that I was almost as nervous as I was for the final of the 4x100m relay at the Olympics. The difference though was that in Paris I could control my destiny. Here it was just wait and see!”
Walaza will remain in South Africa to continue his career despite offers coming frorm the United States. “I want to pursue a career in Logistics,” he said. “I am proud to be South African. I want to be one of the best athletes that South Africa has produced. I want to show up for my country and fight for my country. Fighting doesn’t have to mean going to war, but it’s representing my country. It means a lot to me.
“God gave me the gift to showcase my talents to the world and nothing is going to stop me.”
The executive head of Curro, Pierre le Roux, also paid tribute to Walaza at the announcement. “It happened often that Biyanda couldn’t physically be at school, whether it was at the World Juniors, relay qualifiers, Olympc preparation and even Paris itself. He missed a number of weeks physically being in class but he and the network of teachers as a support system were amazing.
“We basically kept him in class while he was in Paris and were constantly in contact with him. When he returned he put in the extra hours. We have an athletics programme at Curro and that is ‘plan A is academics, plan B is athletics’,” Le Roux said.
Plan A has been executed and now it’s back to Plan B for the teenager. He truly has the world at his feet.