Bayanda Walaza speaks with an excitement and maturity in his voice that is hard to ignore.
For someone so young – he is turning 19 on February 9 – you would think that he is ready to travel the world and make the most of his status as a top-class sprinter.
But he is looking at the bigger picture prevailing in South Africa, and wants to make his country a better place in his own unique way.
The Olympic 4x100m relay silver medallist from that magical August night in a wet Paris was the talk of Mzansi’s social media feeds this week after he decided to join the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) to pursue a course in supply chain management.
Many athletics fans would have expected Walaza to sign up with University of Pretoria’s Tuks Sport programme instead – where Akani Simbine spent most of the first part of his career – or even one of the few US colleges that offered him a scholarship.
So, when he opted for TUT rather, it surprised many.
But Walaza – who matriculated from Curro Hazeldean in Pretoria – felt that he could make a greater contribution to SA athletics by staying at home, where he will continue to be coached by his long-time mentor, Thabo ‘Coach T’ Matebedi.
“(It was) Also to motivate people... Most of the people, especially in athletics, don’t believe in South Africa,” the 100 and 200m world junior champion told Independent Media Sport this week.
Hey TUT Fam!
— Official TUT (@Official_TUT) January 27, 2025
We are thrilled to announce an exciting new addition to our community. Olympic silver medalist, Bayanda Walaza has enrolled at TUT and is now pursuing a qualification in Supply Chain Management.
We wish him all the best in his academic journey! pic.twitter.com/IJ5KYdKYln
“They think that the future is outside South Africa. So, I’m also trying to revive people’s dreams. If you know what you are doing – especially in the country that you feel comfortable in – then you can do anything.
“I believe that being in South Africa will make me fast, and I believe that I must also show other people that it’s still okay to stay here in South Africa – you can still be great while you are still in South Africa.
“Akani Simbine never went to USA, but look how good he is doing. Changing places might ruin things. My parents are always by my side, and my coach is also supporting.”
TUT also made his decision easier. “It was the varsity that wanted to give me more in athletics,” Walaza said.
“They were also showing that they need someone like me in their school, to build and to also be growing (athletics at TUT).
“Compared to others, it looked like they offered more than what other schools offered, and they also helped me to do the course that I wanted to do.
“The other varsities wanted to choose for me what course I should do, but TUT were the ones who were like ‘Nah bra, you do the course that you feel like doing’, and they promised to support everything.
“Supply chain management is the course, because I still love logistics. One of my family members is in logistics, and he made me love logistics.”
With his studies sorted, Walaza can now concentrate on what lies ahead on the track.
Having been part of the SA 4x100m relay team that clinched a silver medal at the Paris Olympics last year – alongside Simbine, Shaun Maswanganyi and Bradley Nkoana – Walaza aims to make a major impact on the individual senior sprint events this year.
He has a personal best of 10.13 seconds in the 100m and 20.34 in the 200m, and hopes to qualify in both distances for the world championships in Tokyo in September.
That will require serious improvements this year, as the standards have been set at 10.00 in the 100m and 20.16 in the 200m.
That’s certainly not out of reach for Walaza, though, who will also have extra confidence from claiming gold medals in both events (10.19 and 20.52) at the world junior championships in Lima, Peru.
But he is aiming even higher – breaking through the magical 10- and 20-second barriers.
“That’s the goal. Believing in myself is the one thing I must do, and also believing in God’s timing – God’s timing is what matters,” Walaza said.
“Also, putting in the work in training. I cannot be saying that I want to run nine seconds, but train like someone who is not seriously into it.
“Putting in the work, believing in myself and waiting for the great timing, then I’ll be fine.”
He lists Simbine as his athletics hero, adding that he is “comfortable” being in the public spotlight since his Olympic heroics.
Now he is determined to build on last season, starting with a 400m Athletics Gauteng North league race today.
“I’ll say Akani, because he’s been in the game for long and he’s a South African,” Walaza said.
“I believe that to motivate people, you must be motivated by people who are next to you.
“If you look at someone who’s far, far away... Eish, you don’t know where they started. You don’t know how they are.
“But if it’s someone who’s next to you is mentoring you, then I think that is the best way to follow that person.
“The person who you have easy access to, the person who can also teach you, who’s close to you and can tell you more about how he started and where he ended – so it’s Akani.
“(The Olympic performance) pushes me to have more success. That season was the start of big things that I want to accomplish.
“So, last season boosted my confidence to strive for more.
“Also inspiring people is what I like doing. I also want to be the one person who people look up to and be like, ‘You see that guy? Be the change in South Africa’.
“So, people being able to see me and all of that makes me happy as well. And it makes me work even harder.”