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Current world under-20 champion Bayanda Walaza won over the crowd in Rhine-Ruhr, Germany, with his power, speed, and showmanship as he blitzed through the 100m final to claim gold at the FISU World University Games.
It’s a promise he made after arriving last weekend on the back of a busy – but rewarding – running season.
He added to the growing tally of medals for Team SA at the event, with his gold taking the number to 10 and with the relays still to come.
Speaking to SABC Sport moments after his victory, Walaza relished being the fastest across his peers at university level.
"It's wonderful to say that I'm the fastest in all of the Universities around the world. It's a great honour to be here and to win this.
"I arrived in Germany with not a lot of training under my belt, but I quickly convinced myself that I am a warrior and a fighter."
The TUT student athlete also touched on how he plans to handle being distracted by false starts at major tournaments, which marred day two of track and field in Germany.
"I don't get irritated by false starts as much as I used to, because when you're in that moment of wanting to explode and someone makes a false start, it actually sucks a lot of energy."
The 19-year-old had some encouraging words for teammate Kyle Zinn, who also reached the finals but finished fifth with a time of 10.42 – slower than what he’d managed in the heats and semifinal – and will join him for the 4x100m relay.
"I believe in the relay team so much, and people should expect fire when we step onto the track.
"I am super proud of Kyle, and I believe that he will one day be one of the scariest sprinters in the world."
