Teen sprint medallists aim to avoid trappings of fame

The lives of Team SA’s teenage Olympic 4x100m relay silver medallists Bayanda Walaza and Bradley Nkoana will never be the same — and with that comes the trappings of fame and possibly fortune. 

Walaza and Nkoana were part of the SA team, including the experienced Akani Simbine and Shaun Maswanganyi, that finished second behind champions Canada and ahead of Great Britain at Stade de France on August 9. 

Walaza, Nkoana and swimming sensation Tatjana Smith, who claimed Olympic 100m breaststroke gold and 200m breaststroke silver medals, arrived at OR Tambo International Airport on Tuesday to a rousing reception. 

After their exploits in France, there are sure to be money-spinning sponsorships and public attention on the sprinters.

Walaza, 18, and Nkoana, 19, said they had good support structures to help them stay grounded and level-headed. 

“I have a team already, I have the support of my school and they have promised to continue helping me even when I am done with high school,” said Walaza, who is a pupil at Curro Hazeldean, where a celebration of their global star will be held on Thursday.

“I also have a support system from coaches and my mother. My coach at school always told me I am going to be a star and we started planning for things to come.

Nkoana shared similar sentiments while adding the importance of staying humble. 

“It goes with respect to the elders because they know what is best. As youngsters we get ahead of ourselves sometimes, we think we know better. We think because the world has changed and technology has taken over, we know better than elders. 

“The most important thing is respect. I already have a team that’s there for me, I just need to add here and there because of what’s happened at the Olympics. This is big for us, but I will be able to manage it.”