Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 117, April 2019 | Page 34

n Niekerk in
TRACK & FIELD
Wayde va
he’d beaten
t Gift realised
2016
The momen
Gift Leotlela is hoping to
return from long-term
injury in 2019
time, which proved his downfall. “I really wanted the record, especially with Akani
sitting in the stands, but I tensed up and that cost me.”
Simbine also admitted to having been nervous, knowing full well that Gift had the
credentials to take down his record from 2012. After the race, Akani had mixed
feelings: “It’s great my record still stands, but it cannot last, not with athletes such
as Gift, and Clarence Munyai coming through the ranks. I really thought he would
get the record today, but I think he was too tense. You could see it at the start.”
Chasing Records
After a frustratingly long time out of action due to a back
injury, talented young sprinter Tlotliso ‘Gift’ Leotlela is
hoping the 2019 season will bring better times, literally and
figuratively. – BY MANFRED SEIDLER
O
n Wednesday 8 March 2017, the athletics community sat stunned as
18-year-old Tlotliso ‘Gift’ Leotlela stormed to a famous win in the 100m
that showed just how much potential he has in his 1.8-metre frame. In the
lane alongside him was Wayde van Niekerk, the fastest man ever to run the 400m,
with his 2016 Olympic gold medal and world record over the one-lapper were still
fresh in the memory. Later that season he would become the only athlete to have
run sub-10-seconds for 100m, sub-20 for 200m and sub-44 for 400m. But this
night belonged to Gift, as he claimed Wayde’s ‘scalp’ at the ASA Speed Meeting in
Bloemfontein. A faulty timing system meant that only hand times were recorded at
that meet, but it wasn’t about the time, it was the win that mattered.
That performance should not really have come as a surprise, though, as Gift had
been at those same Olympics as Wayde, having qualified for the 200m at the
tender age of just 17. Earlier in 2016, Gift had earned himself the silver medal in
the 200m and finished fourth in the 400m at the World Under-20 Championships
in Bydgoszcz, Poland. A year earlier, he had finished fifth in the 200m at the 2015
World Under-18 Championships in Cali, Colombia. With all that talent and promise,
it was only a matter of time before the softly-spoken athlete made his mark
amongst the seniors.
And it seemed only a matter of time before Akani Simbine’s SA Junior record of
10.19 seconds for 100m would be broken, with Gift widely expected to claim it.
He had already come desperately close in 2016 when he clocked 10.21 at the SA
Junior Championships in Germiston, but he later admitted that he was chasing the
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ISSUE 117 APRIL 2019 / www.modernathlete.co.za
Gift had stepped up to the big leagues, and looked like qualifying for the World
Champs in London later that year, but then his world came crashing down. He
picked up a back injury that just would not heal, and he ended up missing the rest
of the 2017 season. Further investigation revealed a stress fracture in his back,
which effectively meant the end of 2018, too. Gift was understandably disheartened
at the news. Luckily, he has the maturity to go with the talent, allowing him to
handle disappointments and challenges. “I just want to run, so this is hard,” he said
while recovering in 2018. “But I am not going to rush my return to the track. This
needs to heal properly, so I will focus on my studies and do the rehab.”
Back on Track
Finally the good news arrived in late 2018 that he could return to training, albeit
not yet in spikes. So now the 2019 season beckons, and there is already great
anticipation building about his return, but Gift’s coach, Hennie Kriel, is taking his
time with his charge’s comeback. It is not yet clear if Gift will line up at the SA
Senior Championships in
late April, having missed the
provincial championships in
March this year.
But an athlete with this
pedigree will not be held back
for long. There is, after all, a
World Championships coming
up in October, and given his 18
months away from the track,
he will want to show that he
is still a force to be reckoned
with. Meanwhile, his training
partner and compatriot,
Clarence, has thrown down
the gauntlet to challenge Gift’s
status as the ‘next best young
sprinter’ to come through
the ranks. Last year at the
SA Seniors, he screamed to
a South Africa Record in the
200m, being clocked at 19.69.
So there is a new target for
Gift to chase in 2019, once he
is back up to speed.
The Next n
Generatio
Thus, 2017 arrived and much was expected of Gift after his incredibly
successful 2016 season, and he lived up to expectations. At the Gauteng North
Championships, he finally took down Akani’s record, breaking the line in 10.12 for
a massive improvement of 0.07 seconds. Less than two weeks later, he equalled
that time, and he also lowered his 200m personal best twice, first to 20.28, and
then 20.20 at the Senior National Champs, where he won the bronze medal behind
Wayde and Akani.