South Africa’s speedsters endured a night of mixed fortunes at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo as the men’s 100m final produced drama and history, but ultimately no medals.
Gift Leotlela, returning from a tough injury spell, turned heads throughout the championship. Earlier in the season, he roared back to prominence by clinching the national title, a sign that his form was peaking. In Saturday’s opening heat he unleashed a blistering 9.87 seconds, cutting 0.08 off a personal best that had stood for four years and sending a clear signal that he belongs among the world’s elite.
When the gun fired for Sunday’s final, Gift held his nerve to clock 9.95 seconds and finish fifth. The race was snatched by Jamaica’s Oblique Seville, who stormed home in 9.77 seconds. Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo’s hopes ended before they began after a false start, leaving South Africa’s veteran Akani Simbine to complete the field in seventh place with 10.04 seconds, as reported by The Citizen.
For Akani , it was a familiar heartache. Despite reaching his seventh global 100m final, an individual medal remains elusive. The national record holder has enjoyed a glittering career, but the Tokyo track once again denied him the one honour that continues to slip through his fingers.
Still, there was a significant silver lining: for the first time in World Championships history, South Africa had two men lining up together in the 100m final, a milestone that underscores the nation’s growing sprint pedigree.
Both sprinters will shift their focus to the men’s 4x100m relay later this week. After the team’s silver medal at last year’s Olympic Games in Paris, they will be eager to climb the podium once more and prove that South African sprinting remains a global force.
Elsewhere on day two of competition, distance runner Adriaan Wildschutt found himself in an unexpectedly tactical men’s 10,000m final. With athletes hesitant to push the pace under humid Tokyo skies, the early laps resembled a gentle jog rather than a world-class showdown. When the tempo finally lifted, the race turned into an all-out sprint finish.
Adriaan crossed the line in 28:59.47 to take 10th place, just four seconds behind French winner Jimmy Gressier, who clinched gold in 28:55.77. In a thrilling blanket finish, the first five runners were separated by barely a single second.
First published by Cape {town} etc
Compiled by Aiden Daries
Also see: Akani Simbine breaks Usain Bolt’s record for running sub 10 seconds for 11 consecutive years
