Thursday, September 5, 2024 - Bayanda Walaza, South Africa's double under-20 world champion, has confirmed his commitment to both his coach and his distinctive running style as he prepares for his next chapter at the University of Pretoria.
Walaza, fresh off his success in Lima, Peru, where he
secured gold in the 100m and 200m events, returned to South Africa on Tuesday,
September 3, with an eye on his academic future and the upcoming matric prelim
exams.
Despite his meteoric rise, which also included a 4x100m
silver medal at the Paris Olympic Games, the 18-year-old athlete has chosen to
stick with his coach, Thabo “Coach T” Matebedi. Walaza acknowledged that offers
from US universities have poured in, but he is determined to continue his
training under Matebedi’s guidance. “I’m not going to change any coaches
because that can cause a lot of difficulties and all of that,” said Walaza.
The sprinter, who ran the first leg of the 4x100m relay in
Paris, has developed a lightning start that proved a factor in Peru, but his
habit of flailing his arms and rocking his head in the final stages of the race
has raised concern among some purists.
Currently a pupil at Curro Hazeldean in Pretoria, Walaza is
balancing his athletics career with his academics, starting his matric prelim
exams with geography on Thursday, September 4. He also revealed plans to study
logistics at the University of Pretoria, a decision that keeps him grounded in
his home country as he continues to build on his track career.
He said;
“So it’s better to deal with the coach that is working for
me because he made me get two gold medals. He made me get silver at the
Olympics so why must I must leave him? I’ve got a lot of offers [from US
colleges] like I think three or four varsities, but I told them: ‘Ja, I’ll stay
here’.
“I’ve heard a lot of comments. So my coach told me, as long
as it’s working for me, I might as well just stay doing it because if I change
it, who might know? I might look nice running, but I might not be the
winner that I am right now with this running style I have, so it’s better to
work with what you have. Me and my coach are working on what we have. If my
running style is like this, it’s better to make it effective than changing it.
“We had to work for the whole year to perfect that start,
and it went perfect at the right time because I would say [until then] it was
not going the way we wanted it. At Paris, that’s when it started working ... I
think that was also the reason I won because I was leaving them at the start.”
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