Brandon Valjalo flies the SA flag high at the Paris Olympics
Brandon Valjalo made his second Olympic appearance at the Paris Olympics, competing in street skateboarding. Despite breaking his wrist before the event, he finished 18th overall.
Brandon Valjalo’s Olympic journey was never going to be easy, but a broken wrist just days before the competition made it even tougher. Yet, the South African skateboarder still managed to finish 18th in the street skateboarding event at the Paris Olympics.
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This was the Fourways resident’s second Olympic appearance after he represented South Africa at the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics when skateboarding made its debut as an Olympic sport. Valjalo started skateboarding at the age of eight and quickly rose through the ranks and earned a reputation as one of South Africa’s top skateboarders. His talent and dedication paid off, and as a teenager, he was competing in national and international competitions.
After Tokyo, he secured his spot as number 45 in the world and became the number one ranked skater in Africa. Valjalo recounted what had inspired his journey to the Olympics.
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“Skateboarding has always been my freedom of expression and my escape from reality, it has always been a place where I can create my reality without limitations. That’s what attracted me to it. After winning the youth world championships and South African championships in 2014, I knew I wanted to fully pursue skateboarding as my career.
Valjalo is a Dainfern College alumnus and received a sports scholarship playing other sports but always knew deep in his heart and passion for skateboarding was stronger than the traditional sports.
“Nobody had pioneered skateboarding in South Africa internationally or made it a career which made it even more interesting for me to be the first person to inspire the next generation of South African skateboarders to pursue skateboarding as a career choice,” he said.
“Dainfern and St Albans College both helped shape me into the person I am today and gave me the values and discipline I have today, which means they both played a crucial role in my journey.”
He said it was always an honour to represent his country, especially on the biggest stage in the world. He admitted that building up to the games he had mixed emotions of both nerves and excitement.
“I had my family and friends in the crowd showing their support. It was incredible to be able to feel the energy of the crowd in comparison to the Tokyo Olympics. I love entertaining and engaging with the crowd but the majority of my mindset was focused on my tricks and my strategy entering into the contest.”
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