Exclusive: Former Olympian Praises Akani Simbine and Gift Leotlela for 100m Final Show at World Championships

Former South African Olympian and now Tuks University of Technology’s Athletics Head Coach, Hendrick Mokganyetsi, praised the effort from sprinters Akani Simbine and Gift Leotlela for reaching the 100m final at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo and backs them to defend the country’s 4x100m relay title this coming weekend.

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Simbine and Leotlela blitzed through to the semi-final of the 100m race in Tokyo without breaking a sweat, with Leotlela recording 9.87 seconds, his personal best in the 100m sprint.

However, the two had a turn of events in their respective semi-final heats, with Simbine racing alongside Noah Lyles in his heat as the South African finished third with a time of 9.96s and had to wait for another semi-final heat to determine whether he qualified for the final.

Leotlela went through an almost identical route, recording 9.97 seconds in the semi-final. However, the duo qualified for the final, where they could not secure podium finishes.

Despite the disappointing result in Tokyo, in an exclusive interview with SportsBoom.co.za, Mokganyetsi praised the duo for their respective performances.

“What I can say is that the team went there, demonstrated a competitive form, especially during the preliminaries; the way they performed was exceptional. But coming to qualifying for the final, it was not easy for both of them to make it,” Mokganyetsi told SportsBoom.co.za.

“Akani had to wait to confirm his qualification, but that's part of the games. He made it into the final, and unfortunately, in the final, it did not come on our side as we expected."

“I think Gift pulled up his socks; he worked very hard, and he defended his position. You can see that they've done their best, but at the end of the day, it did not work on our side."

“Gift is in the same training with Bayanda (Walaza) and Sinesipho Dambile. They are coached by Thabo Matibedi, and that is a team that we support at TUT because one of our students is training there."

“I think Gift did this very well after coming back from a long injury. He was very hungry, he showed that he had missed the track, and he's done his best, and then we hope that the entire team will perform to their levels.”

The 4x100 relays

In the men’s 4x100m relays, South Africa has been a serious force in the world. Their silver Olympic medal during last year’s Olympics tells the tale of the success of the South African 4x100 relay team.

Moreover, South Africa won the men’s 4x100m race at the World Athletics Relays in Guangzhou in the People's Republic of China earlier this year, a feat that makes a genuine threat to all the teams at the ongoing Championships in Tokyo.

The team is without Bayanda Walaza, who has recently suffered a hamstring injury, completely ruling him out of the ongoing Championships.

Mokganyetsi believes Walaza is in the right mental state despite the disappointment of missing out on such a massive tournament.

However, Mokganyetsi believes South Africa has put in a lot of work on the relays and could retain their title.

“I think the relay project is something that we have invested in a lot, and we believe that the relays can bring something if you look at the draft of performance from the Olympics, the world relays in China, where we brought some medals,” said Mokganyetsi.

“So, our hope lies or still lies on the relay that they will defend their position going there as defending champions, so we hope and trust that the coaches will (5:55) select the best athletes on the day and deliver for the country.”

Bayanda Walaza injury update

Mokganyetsi added that Walaza is in a good mental state.

“It is unfortunate that Bayanda had to get injured prior to the World Champs in Tokyo but where he is, he's fine, he's calm and we're hoping that after the exams, because the exams will be coming very soon, he will be starting with his rehab and we are in full support as TUT that he recovers soon so he can be ready for the Commonwealth next year but we will get the full report from the doctors who will assess and those who will work on his rehab programme,” said Mokganyetsi.

“What they just said to us is that it is a hamstring (injury), but we don't know yet how bad it is. However, after the assessment of the Athletics SA doctor, they just felt that he's not fit, he's not ready for the World Champs. I spoke to him this past Saturday. He's calm, he's focused, it's just the unfortunate timing of his injury," he concluded.