South African speedster Bayanda Walaza’s rise to the grandest of stages came as a shock to him, given his tender age ahead of the men’s 4x100m relay in the Paris 2024 Olympics Games.
Walaza together with Shaun Maswanganyi, Bradley Nkoana, and Akani Simbine brought home a silver medal after finishing second to Canada.
However, in the build-up to the event, the 18-year-old Walaza did not imagine that he would be selected to be part of the quadrumvirate to represent South Africa in the relay. This explains his indulgence in sweet treats and enjoying some leisure time.
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“Me? I was enjoying there (in Paris), it was nice for me. At first, I thought I was not going to run because I am the youngest and they have stronger people.
“For me, it was a vacation but when I realized that I was in the team, it shocked me a bit because I was eating ice cream every day there,” Walaza explained at OR Tambo International Airport where Mzansi’s athletes were welcomed by sports minister Gayton McKenzie.
“When the coach came to me and said: ‘You know what boy, now it is time to be ready, you are running’, that’s when I knew that now it is serious. I stopped eating ice cream and when I stepped on the track, it was a wonderful feeling.
“The crowd was wow, everything was wow. Everything was massive. When I went into that block, I was like, ‘You know what, I am muting everything now, it is me and my God, whatever is going on I don’t care, if I faint, I’ll faint when the baton is out of my hand, It was the best experience ever’.
“There is a point where I was really scared to run. But the messages that I got from the people were inspiring. I would love to thank my family and also SASCOC (South African Sports Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee) – we really appreciate your work because if it was not the camp that SASCOC did, we were not going to get this medal that we got.
While the groundwork that goes in when preparing for a relay may appear to be standard and straightforward, such as selecting the four fastest runners available, for starters.
Placing your 200m specialist on leg 2, and picking your best speedster to run the anchor leg – but there is a lot more than what meets the surface, Walaza suggests. More than most, the camaraderie plays a role in building chemistry and understanding among the quartet.
“I want to thank them (trainers and coaches) also for giving us the opportunity to practice the handovers and to trust each other because we cannot go to war but you don’t trust each other. We had a bond before running but we had to create a bond before running to know each other better so we can know each other when we go to run,” Walaza said.
The athletes’ efforts will not go unnoticed as minister McKenzie has lined up remuneration packages on top of those promised by Gauteng sports MEC Matome Chiloane.
“We are going to call you (athletes) after SASCOC has given you your bonuses. The office of Peace Mabe (deputy sports minister) and Gayton McKenzie have also got bonuses waiting for you.
“And I can promise you that it is more than ice cream. When you come to my office, there must be something waiting for you. We are proud of you, you inspired the youth of this country. I am having a huge gala dinner with the deputy minister, where we are going to invite all the sponsors of sports in this country,” said McKenzie.
Meanwhile, the outspoken McKenzie has vowed to extend a helping hand to javelin thrower, Jo-Ane van Dyk’s, promising to reimburse the silver medalists’ parents. Van Dyk made her appearance in the Olympics without any financial support, forcing her parents to poke holes in their pockets for the 26-year-old to make it to Paris.
“I spoke to Van Dyk. She got a silver medal and she’s everywhere in the media where she’s complaining about the fact that her parents used their last money to get her there (to Paris).
“I had a long chat with her and I listened to her. I can promise you that we are going to make sure that we give her father his money back. I commit that the Department of sports should give him his money back because that investment paid off,” McKenzie explained.
