Olympic silver medallist Shaun Maswanganyi is dreaming big – he has stated his ambition to surpass his coach Carl Lewis’ medal record.
Maswanganyi, 23, formed part of Team South Africa’s 4x100m relay team that broke the national record and finished second behind Canada at the recent Paris Olympics.
The Soweto-born athlete lives in the US, where he attends the University of Houston and trains under the tutelage of American track and field legend Lewis.
Lewis is one of only four Olympic athletes to have won nine Olympic gold medals, and is widely recognised as one of the greatest athletes of all time.
“The biggest thing is the fact that there’s more to come,” Maswanganyi said upon arrival at OR Tambo International Airport on Wednesday night.
“There is no limit to what can be achieved. Coach Carl has nine Olympic medals, and I want to surpass that. I still have plenty of Olympics Games left in me.”
This is why I love @UHCougarTF , I get a chance to share these moments with great kids. #HTOWNSPEEDCITY teammates and Olympic medalists. I'm so proud of these young men. @UHpres , @UHCougars pic.twitter.com/lZn9khNAEG
Paris 2024 was Maswanganyi’s second Olympics, after also competing in Tokyo.
He progressed to both the 100m and 200m semi-finals at the Stade de France, but just missed out on qualifying for the finals.
Maswanganyi should, though, be approaching his peak in four years’ time at the Los Angeles Games.
Regardless, he has already fulfilled the wishes of his late grandmother.
“I remember going to a rowing camp when I was at high school. My mom was adamant on me going to the rowing camp,” he said.
“I spoke to my grandmother that weekend and little did I know that was the last time I was going to speak to her.
“She was telling me how she saw a future for me in sport and representing the family name at the highest stage.
“At that moment in time I was only 13 – I couldn’t put it together exactly to what she was referring. I was just going with the motions.
“At 13 you don’t really know what you are going to do in five years’ time.
“My mom and I rejoice about that, because I feel like I’ve been able to do that and live her dreams that I didn’t even see for myself.”
Maswanganyi believes he has certainly benefited from being under the guidance of Lewis, as he feels that he has developed both on and off the track since moving to the US.
“The biggest thing is to always grow as a person, even just outside track and field. I want to make sure that I am developing myself and other characteristics of myself that will help me achieve other things in life,” he said.
“So, when Coach Carl was recruiting me out of high school, the biggest thing from him was, ‘Are you willing to grow, are you willing to learn, and are you willing to adapt?’ If you are willing to put in the hard work, then success will be guaranteed.”
What a guy man! This is too wholesome. 😂🙌🏽 https://t.co/RNYfxntUXs pic.twitter.com/DthWbSAYvc
— Shaun Maswanganyi, OLY (@Shaun___M) August 14, 2024
Maswanganyi has previously shown that he is not afraid to stand up to the authorities when conditions have not been conducive to producing excellence – like he when he withdrew from the African Athletics Championships in Cameroon in June.
He has now called on the SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) to continue supporting the relay team, as they have proved in Paris what they can produce with a bit of support.
“This is such a huge confidence booster for the team, and hopefully now we get more investment in the relay team,” Maswanganyi said.
“And understand that this is such a big deal, not only for us, but as a country as a whole.
“The biggest thing was the federation starting to step in. We got a little more support from Opex (Operation Excellence programme), and ASA (Athletics SA) and Sascoc.
“We were able to do these relay camps that ultimately made the difference. The difference between us and the Great Britains and USAs is that they have invested in relays for a really long time.
“So, we’ve only started to do this the last couple of years, which is why we’ve been able to put it together when it matters most – simply because we’ve had more investment.”