There are not many who at 19 can claim to be one of the fastest athletes in South Africa ever. Phatutshedzo Maswanganyi can.

The Tuks athlete staked his claim last month when he clocked at a time of 10.06s in the 100 metres during the Gauteng North Championships. It is a new South African junior record.

In doing so, he became the first South African junior athlete (under-20) to dip under 10.10s. It is something not even the South African record holder, Akani Simbine, could do when he was 19. 

Statistics show that only seven South African sprinters ever clocked 10.10s and faster. Over the last five years, only six were able to do so. His time of 10.06s is only 0.01s outside the Olympic qualification standard. 

To say Maswanganyi is addicted to sprinting would be an understatement. He loves it. For him, the thrill starts that moment he settles in his starting blocks. It is that sense of expectation, not knowing how the body is going to hold, mixed with emotion, which gets the adrenaline pumping.

“‘Boom’ you are off at speed, never knowing what the outcome is going to be. All that matters is to push yourself to the limit. I get a thrill every time," the Tuks athlete explains. 

It is not only about speed for the Tuks athlete. After he had clocked 10.06s, he did not hold back on celebrating what he had achieved. Maswanganyai turned to the pavilion and formed a heart with both hands. Next, he made a gesture that seemed like he was "fishing".

"The 'heart' was to show the crowd I appreciate their support. Then I was letting the spectators know I am ‘cooking’. It is important to me to interact as the sport is after all about entertainment," he explained.

Due to the world wild coronavirus outbreak, there will be no "booming out blocks" for Maswanganyi in the foreseeable future. He admits to being slightly frustrated but then hastily adds: "It is quite tough. Luckily I am young, so there is still next year."

He is not one to hold back on his dreams. 

"Next year, I want to compete at the Olympic Games and not only to gain experience. I want to run a sub 10 seconds race, if not I must know I have done the best I could." 

Maswanganyi is quite versatile. During the Gauteng North Championships, he clocked 20.50s in the 200m. He is not ruling out testing himself against the stopwatch over 400m. Next year he is aiming to start long jumping also. He does not see it as being "Jack of all trades and master of none". 

"I don't want to specialize my training at this stage as it ‘kinda’ will take the fun out of athletics. I enjoy the challenge to diversify."

In a way, Maswanganyai will be trying to emulate what his coach the legendary Carl Lewis did in his heyday. The USA athlete is a ten-time Olympic medallist. The Tuks athlete plans to enroll at the Houston University later this year where he will be coached by Lewis and Leroy Burrell, also an Olympic medallist.