Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 127, February 2020 | Page 37

Injury Woes and Lessons
In the early years of his career, Akani’s trademark was
always his last 30 to 40 metres, where he traditionally
came through and swept past his opposition. That
changed, though, when he developed a persistent hip
flexor injury in 2017, and it changed the dynamics of
his racing. That saw his start, which initially was the
one area that needed more work, develop into his
strength as the hip flexor issue caused him to lose
strength and speed endurance in the latter part of the
race. So, while the one element that could make the
big difference in his racing was fixed, another came
up and scuppered all the hard work that went into
fixing that element.
Given that in 2017 he clocked a best of 9.92, and
in 2018 his best was 9.93, one can understand that
frustration. After his 9.89 in 2016, Akani had every right
to expect to jump to the next level and earn a medal
in London at the 2017 World Championships, but the
injury meant he had to stop working out in the gym for
a year. It is thus no wonder that Akani was frustrated. “I
lost almost two years to that injury,” he says.
“I had to do functional movement training, rather than
hit the weights. That took away my power and my
speed endurance. I was always strong at the end, and
that went away in a year.” That in turn created more
difficulties, he says. “I knew my top end wasn’t there
anymore, so I knew I needed to get a really good start
to get as far away as I could from my competitors, so
I would not have to do so much work at the end.”
And when Akani crossed the line in Doha it all hit
home. And it hit him hard. “Why didn’t I do this? Or
why didn’t I do that? That was hard, and so very
disappointing. But then after I digested it, I went away
and took away the good parts. I finished fourth, that
is my highest finish at a major championship, and I
finished with a seasons best, so it was not all bad.”
All Eyes on the Olympics
Akani has made it clear that there can be only one aim
for 2020. “I want to win it! I want to win the Olympics.
There is nothing else. 2019 took me to a level where I
was upset, with myself, with my coach, with my team,
with everything around me. And I promised myself that
will never happen again. So if there are things I need to
address, I need to do that quickly. I do not want to look
back with regrets, what if’s. I do not want to lose another
year. I’ll put myself in a position where I am ticking off
all the boxes, so I am seeing the doctor, physio and
chiro, I have my strength and conditioning coach Wayne
Coleman back again since the start of 2018, I’m seeing
the dietician... I am ticking all the boxes.”
This has also seen Akani and his coach of the last
10 years, Werner Prinsloo, decide to go back to the
formula that worked so well for him in 2016, the year he
ran his 9.89 best in Budapest. In recent years he has
raced mostly overseas, but in 2016 he raced a fair bit in
South Africa, opening the season with a 9.95 in Pretoria
in March. “This year I will race the Gauteng North
Champs on 14 March in Pretoria – that will be like SA’s,
man, all the big guns are there. Then I am doing all the
Grand Prix’s and I am doubling up at SA’s again.”
The Grand Prix Meetings Akani is referring to are the
three meetings on 9, 14 and 16 April, in Cape Town,
Pretoria and Potchefstroom, with the South African
Championships taking place in Pretoria from the 23 to
25 April. Then, once the SA domestic season ends, he
intends to take a training block in May and will more
than likely head off to Gemona, his training base in
Italy, in the middle of May, where he will be based until
the Olympics.
In terms of racing, only London on 4 July has been
confirmed for his international season as yet, but that
will change closer to May, with more races added.
Meanwhile, Akani says he is looking forward to
London. “I love London, it is one of my favourite tracks
and a happy hunting ground for me. I hope to race in
Budapest again, too, as it is my absolute favourite track
to run on, and not only because I ran my SA Record
there, but also because it has such a great vibe. The
spectators are right next to the track, and because it
is always full, it just adds to the atmosphere. You just
become one with the supporters.”
“If we had improved on our heat time, we could have
been challenging for the bronze medal. Given that
we only trained together two weeks before the World
Champs, imagine what we could have done had we
had more time? The relay in Tokyo has to be a medal
goal for us, and I do not see why it cannot be gold if
the changeovers are slick.”
Good news for our sprinters is that Athletics South
Africa has bought into the relay team as a genuine
medal hope, and is throwing resources at the team’s
preparation for Tokyo. This has seen the appointment
of a relay coach, former World Junior Champion in the
200m, Paul Gorries, and his impact in Doha was felt
immediately. Paul’s task is now to ready the squad
and select the final team for the relay’s in Tokyo, and
Akani says he is enthused by the new focus. “It is
good! ASA sees the huge potential in not only a medal
opportunity, but also a way to get our sprinting back
to 2016 levels, where we had a few athletes dipping
10 seconds for the 100m.”
“In the US and the UK, athletes who know that
there is a good chance they won’t make the top
three slots for their country at the Olympics or World
Championships, see the relays as a chance to make
the World Champs or Olympic team. We have so
Added Focus in 2020
Akani and Werner have also targeted more 200m
races this year. Having not done any 200m races
in 2018 due to the hip flexor issue, they know that
Akani’s speed endurance will come back if he races
more 200m events. “I also have unfinished business
with the 200m. It will of course bring back my speed
endurance, but I only have one sub-20. That is
not good enough. I need to get my body to feel as
comfortable breaking 20 as it does breaking 10 in
the 100m. Also it gets me ever closer to being the
complete sprinter, which I will need to be if I want that
Gold in Tokyo,” says Akani.
Added to that, Akani will have his eyes firmly set on
the 4x100m relay this season. Many feel that South
Africa should have earned a medal at the World
Athletics Championships in Doha, especially after the
37.65 the team clocked in the qualifying rounds, but
a mix-up in the second baton exchange cost them. “I
was so disappointed with that result, too,” says Akani.
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