Walaza turns down offers from US universities to stay in South Africa

Despite receiving multiple offers to study overseas, sprint sensation Bayanda Walaza says he will stay in South Africa next year to further both his studies and his athletics career.

Walaza, 18, formed part of the national 4x100m relay team that earned the silver medal at the Olympic Games in Paris last month, and he went on to secure gold in the 100m and 200m events at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Peru last week.

A matric student at Curro Hazeldean in Pretoria, Walaza wrote one prelim exam between the Olympics and the global junior championships, but he missed three other exams due to his recent commitments on the track.

Catching up

He was confident, however, that he would be able to catch up, with his season having now come to a close.

Juggling a hectic schedule, he was set to write his next prelim tomorrow, just two days after returning home from Peru.

“For now it’s causing a lot of stress, but I know I’m going to catch up. I have the facilities to do that and I have teachers who are supporting me, as well as family and friends, so I think it will go very well,” Walaza said after arriving home yesterday.

Staying in Pretoria

Looking ahead, Walaza confirmed he had turned down “three or four” offers to study at universities in the United States, opting instead to accept an offer from the University of Pretoria (Tuks).

This decision would also give him an opportunity to continue working with his coach, Thabo Matebedi, who was based in the capital city.

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“I’m planning to go to Tuks, where I’m doing logistics, and I’ll carry on my schooling while I’m continuing with athletics,” he said.

“I’m not going to change coaches because that can cause a lot of difficulties. It’s better to chill with the coach that’s working for me. He made me get two gold medals, and silver at the Olympics, so why must I leave him?

“That’s one of the reasons, but there are a lot of reasons why I want to stay in Pretoria. I love it.”