Curro bid emotional farewell to junior sprinter Bayanda Walaza ahead of the Olympics

The 18-year-old Grade 12 learner is set to join South Africa’s 4x100m relay team at the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris later this month.

In an emotional farewell event, the school’s chief executive officer, Cobus Loubser, presented him with a cap and blazer, marking his achievement as the first Olympian from school still enrolled as a student. Overwhelmed with emotion, Walaza couldn’t hold back his tears.

"It was truly emotional to me because I didn't expect what was happening today. I thought it was just going to be a simple capping ceremony, they're gonna give me a cap but it felt very emotional, it was a very emotional moment for me. I tried by all means to not cry but eish I couldn't hold it anymore," Walaza said.

"It's every athlete's dream to become an Olympian and for me experiencing it at this young age, imagine when I grow up, what's gonna happen. So, for me, I take it as an experience for the first time. I'm going there for experience so that next time when I go there, I must not be amazed by how things are going. So, when I go for the second time, I go knowing that I'm going for business, nothing more."

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Inside the packed hall, where fellow students gave him a standing ovation, Walaza was overcome with emotion and had no idea what was happening.

He was surprised to receive the cap and blazer. He didn’t realize the magnitude of the ceremony the entire school held for him, and all he could do was cry.

"Me, because I don't know anything about these capping ceremonies and all of that. For now, it just feels normal, it's just a cap and a blazer because I'm not used to this, so, I don't feel any goosebumps or anything but I enjoyed it."