South African Olympic medalist turns down scholarship offers from American universities, says he wants to remain in his country

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.”