SOUTH AFRICA’S Bayanda Walaza has been catching headlines following his breakthrough season in track and field.
However, the teenage sensation is a self-described student of the sport, determined to learn all he can about the art of sprinting.
Walaza made his first appearance in Jamaica at the National Stadium yesterday in the men’s 100 metres at the Racers Grand Prix.
Speaking before he lined up against Jamaica’s stars Kishane Thompson and Oblique Seville, Walaza said while he stills holds some fear as a young athlete in his first year competing internationally, he is ready to face the best the sport has to offer.
“This sport is a sport where you have to face your fears. I’ll say I have fears of racing people and I’ll need to get over that. I need to be strong within and to face it,” he said.
Walaza has been one of South Africa’s rising talents and announced himself on the international stage when he claimed the 100m and 200m sprint double at the World Athletics U20 Championships last year.
This season has brought even more success for the 19-year-old, who dipped below the 10-second barrier for the first time in March, clocking 9.99 seconds, before repeating the feat last month with a 9.94-second clocking.
His impressive times have not only been limited to the 100, as he holds a personal best of 20.08 in the 200.
He was also a member of the South African team that took silver in the men’s 4×100-metre relays at the Paris Olympic Games last year, and gold at the World Relays earlier this year.
With the weight of a nation’s expectations on his shoulders, Walaza said he is not focused on times, but rather is more concerned with learning.
“It is my first year competing internationally, so if I start putting times first, it will actually kill who I am because I will start running for the times and forget what makes the sport fun,” he explained.
However, he admitted he does hold aspirations of eclipsing the world junior record of 9.91, which was set by Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo in 2022.
Walaza believes he has what it takes to write his name in the history books, but said it will all come down to the right timing, rather then forcing the issue.
“The times will come with the perfect execution,” he said.
“I believe that I have the strength and I believe in myself. I think it depends on timing as well. It must not be something that I put in my head because I am still young and it can bring pressure on me.”
