Bayanda Walaza. Hopefully, this is not the last time we talk about this young sprinting sensation. With many social ills facing our beloved country, particularly young people, one must be forgiven for getting carried away at the prospects of our future athletes.
The 18-year-old from Katlehong in Johannesburg, formed part of the famous 4×100 m South African relay team of Akani Simbine, Shaun Maswanganyi and Bradley Nkoana (19) that grabbed silver in Paris ahead of formidable countries such as the United States of America (USA) and the Great Britain.
The team earlier won its heat to make it to the final, while the likes of Jamaica were dumped out.
This is no small achievement. This quartet, led by Simbine, did the country proud and showed there was a lot of talent hidden in the dusty township streets and in some of the most remote villages. This also proved that there are many athletes whose potential might have been flushed down the drain or consumed by drugs due to the lack of opportunities in our communities and schools.
Walaza started the team’s quest for glory. He was not phased by the much senior guys and renowned athletes with him at the starting blocks. While hard yards were done by Simbine, he put a good fight in that first leg. His athleticism should inspire Minister Gayton MacKenzie and the entire nation.
We are a nation with so much potential but our resources and energy are often channelled to all the wrong areas.
The Department of Sports Arts and Culture in conjunction with the departments of Basic Education and Higher Learning must come up with a plan to ensure every South African child has the opportunity to fulfill their sporting dreams. As the nation, we need to invest in our schools and make sure children are exposed to sports from a very young age and are groomed.
We cannot always expect other nations to do us favours. I heard and read that Maswanganyi trains with Carl Lewis (those who do not know him – he is one of the most successful athletes from the USA).
Our government must plough resources into our schools. Each school must have a sportsfield and dedicated coaches to train and work with our youngsters.
This is not rocket science, but a matter of nurturing what we have as humans so that we can compete successfully at international level. Most of our schools have no sporting facilities and this takes away every chance we have of competing at global level.
My son was, for many years, at such a school until last year.
In his first year at the new school, he competed in high jump and made it to the nationals in Pietermaritzburg. He also started playing rugby and is now so passionate about sports. These are things that never crossed his mind until he changed the school and he would not have all the medals he now proudly boasts about.
By building infrastructure at all the schools, the government is giving every child an equal chance to compete and become the next Bayanda or Bradley.
