He is one of only a few South African athletes who have run the 100m in sub-10 second times and the 200m in sub-20 second times and yet South Africans do not know much about this 23-year-old member of the national athletics team, who this week will participate in the Olympic Games in Paris.

Shaun Maswanganyi has the athletics world at his feet these days and he is coached at the University of Houston by the legendary Carl Lewis. But it was as a student at St Alban’s College in Pretoria where everything started for him.

As a schoolboy he was brilliant at full-back for St Albans and he was even selected for the Blue Bulls’ junior school teams, but in his matric year Maswanganyi decided to focus on athletics.

In March 2020, shortly before the world was brought to a standstill due to Covid, Maswanganyi improved the SA u.20 record in the 100m to 10.06 during the Athletics Gauteng North championship. He then went to America, where he has since been coached by Lewis in Texas

Since then, he has improved his personal best times to 9.91s in the 100m and 19.99s in the 200m.

On being coached by Lewis, Maswanganyi reflected on having the five time Olympic 100m champion as his guide and how much that has helped with his performance during a recent interview.

“To have Carl Lewis as a coach is special. I speak about it all the time; he is more than just a coach to me. He is more than a mentor. He is a father figure in many aspects,” Maswanganyi remarked.

He heaped loads of adoration for Lewis, showing appreciation for the fact that their relationship does not end after practice sessions, but his coach is someone that he can lean on even outside of the sport. The young runner compared his relationship with Lewis to the one he had with his high school coach, whom he credits for getting him to where he is today, and he sought after the very same type of dynamic with the American track and field legend.

“It came naturally and that is the thing that I am most grateful about. You know, trials and tribulations just made our relationship ever so stronger, and to have a legend like that coaching you is very special. He’s always there for me, and at the end of the day he’s done everything that I probably aspire to do in athletics so he’s the man for the job and I’m just grateful to have him in my life and I just pray that our relationship just keeps getting stronger and stronger and he keeps being my mentor on and off the track,” he explained.

On 2024 Olympic Games and elevating his craft Maswanganyi believes he is ready and properly prepared for the event.

“My goal for the Olympics is to excel, and I do not see myself as a rookie. I am going to Paris with a winning mentality. I want to make the finals and push for a podium finish,” said an optimistic Maswanganyi.

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