Q & A
Photos courtesy of Anton Geyser
Bayanda Walaza burst onto the scene when, still a schoolboy, he ran the opening leg for SA’ s silver medal-winning 4x100m relay team at the Paris Olympics back in 2024. After that memorable night in France, he went on to win two junior world titles, also in 2024, and repeated that double at the World Student Games the following year. This season got off to a slower start after a hamstring injury kept him out until the end of May. But the time away from the track seems to have paid off, with Walaza blazing to a new personal best time of 9.89 seconds in the 100m – twice( in Serbia and Slovakia)! We caught up with the 20-year-old to find out more …
1You had to wait until the end of May to start your season. How tough was that period on the sidelines, and what got you through?
It was frustrating because you want to be out there racing, especially when you see everyone else starting their season and running fast! But I also knew I couldn’ t rush it. I needed to be patient and trust my team. I just focused on rehab, training properly and getting myself back to 100 per cent. The people around me also helped a lot and kept reminding me that the season is long.
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2
After some pretty fast times once your season started going, when did you actually feel like you were fully back?
I just love racing, so once that first race was done and I got rid of some of the race rustiness, I felt back and ready to go.
3
You’ ve now run under 10 seconds four times this season. What do you think has clicked for you?
I’ m still learning a lot about the 100m and about myself as an athlete, and this year I’ ve started putting better races together. I think when I get the different parts of my race right, the times come from that. I’ ve also been working really hard in the gym and on the track, so I think I’ m building on all the work we did last year as well.
4
Missing the Commonwealth Games must have been tough. How did you deal with that disappointment?
Yes, that was disappointing because obviously you want to represent South Africa at a big championship like that. But there wasn’ t really anything I could do about the timing of it. I just had to accept it and focus on what I could still do with the rest of my season. You can’ t hold onto things you can’ t change. Looking back now, I’ m really happy with how the season turned out.
5
After running a PB of 9.89 twice this season, how happy were you with that, and how much faster do you think you can go?
I was very happy with 9.89, especially to run it twice because it shows it wasn’ t just one race where everything happened perfectly. But I definitely don’ t think that’ s my limit. There are still parts of my race I can improve, so I’ m excited to see how fast I can eventually go. I don’ t really want to put a number on it yet.
6
You’ ve been travelling all over Europe recently – which country is your favourite and who has the best food?
I’ ve enjoyed a lot of the places because every country is a bit different, so it’ s really hard to pick a favourite. But if I had to choose one thing, probably the gelato in Italy. I love ice cream!
7
We’ ve reached the end of the season, but what’ s next for you now? And what’ s the next big goal?
First, I’ m looking forward to having a bit of a break and spending some time at home. It’ s been a long season with a lot of travelling. Then it’ s back to work and preparing for next year. The goal is just to keep improving, stay healthy and take another step forward. I’ ve had a good season, but I know there’ s still a lot more I want to achieve.