Sibusiso Matsenjwa: From racing in borrowed spikes to becoming the 'Swazi Bolt'

LiSwati sprinter Sibusiso Matsenjwa’s career will come full circle when he laces up for the 200m heat at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest on Wednesday for what could be his last appearance at the global showpiece. The 35-year-old Matsenjwa will back into the blocks at his seventh World Championships since his debut in Berlin 2009 and hopes to bring the curtain down on a record-breaking career at Paris 2024.

Nearly 15 years since his unlikely debut, Matsenjwa is still breaking barriers for the tiny land-locked Kingdom of Eswatini. Almost surrounded entirely by South Africa but also sharing a border with Mozambique, Eswatini is yet to win a medal at the World Championships and Olympics.

Formerly known as Swaziland, the southern African nation boasts one athletics medal on the global stage courtesy of the bronze Richard Mabuza won in the marathon at the 1974 Commonwealth Games in Christchurch, New Zealand.

More recently, Matsenjwa has emerged as Eswatini track and field’s standard bearer on the global stage, representing his country at three Olympic Games in London 2012, Rio 2016, and Tokyo 2020 (in 2021).

Affectionately known in his home nation as the ‘Swazi Bolt’, Matsenjwa has earned a reputation for unleashing his fastest times at the Olympics. He has lowered the national mark in the 200m at all three editions of the global showpiece. He also holds national records in the 100m and 400m.

“People respect me, and they believe in me. I am not a person who talks too much, and I also like my own space, but I know my story, I know what I want. If I want it I can do it,” Matsenjwa told Olympics.com.

“I may not have won medals, but I broke records and showed that anything is possible. You don’t have to be in Jamaica or from the United States, even we (Emaswati) can do it. They have seen me grow from childhood to where I am today. It is amazing that they see me being a sponsored athlete, a top athlete at the Olympic Games. They are inspired, especially upcoming athletes.”

• Check out the da-by-day highlights of the World Athletics Championships.
• All results and medals at Budapest 2023

Sibusiso Matsenjwa: An unlikely sprinter

Before Matsenjwa became a national sprinting hero, he did not know or care much about track and field. Matsenjwa fell into the sport after teammates from his football team showed him the fastest man in Eswatini.

Convinced he could beat him, Matsenjwa entered for his first track and field meeting where he finished fourth, earning him a place in a team for a regional competition in Botswana. There, he was initially meant to race in the 4x100m relay but soon found himself promoted to compete in both the 100m and 200m.

Warming up with sneakers he bought with the allowance he received from the national athletics federation, one of his countrymen lent him a pair of spikes. Matsenjwa went on to win his 100m and 200m races, which ultimately earned him a place at the World Championships in Berlin.

“The coach that was travelling with me told me that I did well and I might be selected to represent the country in Germany, but I didn’t care," said Matsenjwa.

“I wasn’t even training…and I went to Germany for my first international trip ever.”

Sibusiso Matsenjwa: Falling in love with athletics

Matsenjwa adopted a laissez-faire attitude before the experience of competing at the World Championships brought about a mind shift in the liSwati athlete. Oblivious to the magnitude of the event, Matsenjwa pitched up ill-prepared and racing in borrowed spikes that were two sizes too big.

“When I got there (in Berlin) I was inspired and I was ‘Nah, I want to do this thing’ because this is an individual sport, and I can control what I do,” Matsenjwa recalled.

“Then I started putting all my efforts into athletics. That is how I started, and I fell in love with the sport. It has taken me around the world, I got a job, and I’ve learned a lot thanks to athletics.”

He has since featured at every World Championships except for Moscow 2013, instead representing the Royal Eswatini Police Academy at the World Student Games in Kazan.

Matsenjwa’s crowning achievement came in Tokyo 2020 where he became the first athlete from Eswatini to reach the semi-final round in any sport at the Olympic Games. His appearance in Tokyo initially took a disappointing turn after he was disqualified for a false start in the first 200m heat. But the suspension was lifted minutes later following an appeal, and he was allowed to run in the seventh and final heat, which featured eventual Olympic bronze medallist Noah Lyles.

“When I got there, the last heat was waiting for me and Noah Lyles was there. The official told me ‘Sorry it is our fault’. I didn’t care. No warm-up, nothing. I put on my spikes, fast, fast. They gave me lane nine and I jumped in,” Matsenjwa said.

“When I got into the stadium I saw the names of the countries: Jamaica, Canada, the USA, and South Africa. And I thought 'I'm not going to survive here'. But I told myself it was fine, let me just run and see what happened. Then I saw myself come second in 20.34s, I was so happy. National record, qualify for semis, yoh! I didn’t even feel tired.”

Sibusiso Matsenjwa: The power of sport

A day later, Matsenjwa again lowered his national record with a time of 20.22s. Although he missed out on the final finishing eighth he set an A-qualifying time for the 2022 World Championships - a first by a liSwati athlete.

Back home, Matsenjwa’s tenacious performances lifted the spirits of a nation going through turmoil following a clampdown on pro-democracy protests.

“It was so emotional. It was during the unrest in Eswatini, but then they said my performance got the country together. Everyone was celebrating my achievements,” said Matsenjwa.

“They say sport has the power to change the world, it had the power to unite Swatis that day. The whole country came to a standstill to see what was happening.”

With the end of his career looming large, Matsenjwa targets a final hurrah in Paris 2024 before he turns his attention to mentoring the next generation in his home country. Matsenjwa believed he had gained a wealth of experience and contacts over the years to help nurture young talent.

“My last Olympics will mean a lot to me. I want to be at my peak. Just leave a legacy for Eswatini. So I'm hoping and praying, crossing my fingers that I'll be in great shape for next year's Olympic Games.

“I also feel that it is time for me to shift focus, go back and join the coaching so that I can help athletes. Because I can see they believe in me, and I can share what worked for me and bring up the sport in Eswatini.”