TRACK & FIELD
The basis of this article was supplied by The Department of Sport ( TuksSport ) at the University of Pretoria . Tuks is home to some of the best sporting opportunities in the world , with more than 30 sport clubs . To find out more , go to www . up . ac . za / tukssport .
Gearing
Up for a
Busy Year
With a jam-packed track and field calendar in 2022 , including the African Champs , World Champs , Commonwealth Games and World Under-20 Champs , the top athletes in South Africa are gearing up for a massive year . Here is some of the latest news coming out of the world of SA track . – BY WILHELM DE SWARDT with SEAN FALCONER
Gift ’ s Big Wish for 2022
Gift Leotlela is hoping for an injury-free 2022
If he was granted one wish this year , then Tokyo Olympic 100 metres semi-finalist Gift Leotlela says he would wish to remain injury-free in 2022 . Well , at least until the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in the UK , taking place in August , and if he can remain injury-free till then , he reckons he may surprise many . “ I know I have not even come close to reaching my full potential as a sprinter yet ,” says the Tuks-based speedster . “ Too often in the past , when I thought I was on the verge of a breakthrough , I got injured . That has been frustrating , and if my body can hold up , I know I will surprise many with my feats on the athletics track , including myself .”
Gift has a good reason for thinking the way he does . He had a near-perfect season last year up to the Olympic semi-final round . He was part of the South African 4x100m relay team that won gold during the World Relay Championships in Poland in May , and that same month , during the USSA Championships , he won the 100 metres in 9.94 seconds , becoming just the sixth South African sprinter to dip under 10 seconds in the short sprint .
He also won races in Europe , but the definite highlight was winning his first-round heat at the Tokyo Games . In the semi-final round , Gift was running shoulderto-shoulder with the USA ’ s Fred Kearly and Andre de Grasse of Canada , but then it happened … the story of his career . He felt a twitch in his hamstring , and then pain , which caused him to slow down dramatically over the last 20 or so metres . He still finished fourth , running 10.04 , but it meant missing out on the 100m final , in which Kearley went on to win silver and De Grasse took bronze .
Source of Motivation
According to Gift , he regularly watches the video of that Olympic semi-final again , as it helps him to stay motivated for the season ahead . “ That race proved to me that I am good enough to race the best . I know I gave Fred Kearly and Andre de Grasse a run for their money . To run like that against the top guys is a great confidence-booster . Obviously , there is still a lot of work to be done before I can claim to be one of the greats of 100-metre sprints , so the big thing is not to get ahead of myself , or become obsessed with times . Experience has taught me that to do so is to set myself up to fail .”
For that reason , Gift says he is just keeping his head down and focusing on his training . “ My coach , Hennie Kriel , is the one doing the daily planning to get me faster . I trust in him , and for now , ‘ Coach ’ is very cautious with my training . He wants to make sure my body can handle the workload , so the key to this season is going to be to train more consistently , as well as making sure that I recover properly . My body takes time to do so … for example , after running the sub-10 seconds race last year , I could not do anything for a week .”
Looking further ahead , Gift says he may also consider racing other events in the future . As a junior , he won silver in the 200m at the Under-20 World Champs , and he says he would love to race that distance again , but he is also realistic . “ It might be too risky , but I have not totally given up on the idea . Who knows … if my 100-metre training goes well , I might be able to run a fast 200 metres as well .”
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