LEOTLELA Gift

South Africa

Athletics

Date of Birth: 12 May 1998

Age: 23

Gender: Male

Olympic Scholarship

Birth Country:

South Africa

Place of residence : PRETORIA

Residence Country:

South Africa

Events and Medals
Records
Schedule
Bio
General Interest
Milestones

Events and Medals

Discipline	Event	Rank	Medal
Athletics	Men's 100m

Schedule

Change

Location	Event	Status
Olympic Stadium - Track	Men's 100m Round 1 - Heat 4	Finished
Olympic Stadium - Track	Men's 100m Semi-Final 1	Finished
Olympic Stadium - Track	Men's 4 x 100m Relay Round 1 - Heat 1	Finished

Biographical Information

Highlights

Athlete:

Olympic Games

Year	Location	200m
2016	Rio de Janeiro, BRA	Round 1 (20.59)

World Relays

Year	Location	4 x 100m
2021	Chorzow, POL	1st (38.71)

World Athletics Continental Tour - Ten best performances since 2020

Rank	Year	Event	Competition	Location	Result
1	2021	100m	World Athletics Continental Tour	Bydgoszcz, POL	10.24

Legend
SF - Semifinal, QF - Quarterfinal, 1R - 1st Round, Qual. - Qualification, QR - Qualification Round, DNF - Did Not Finish, DNS - Did Not Start, DQ - Disqualified, NM - No Mark, [Relay athlete without time] - Did not run in final

Nickname:

Gift [his middle name], Gift of Speed (back-track.co.za, 01 May 2016; Instagram profile, 21 May 2021)

Occupation:

Athlete

Education:

Information Technology - University of Pretoria, South Africa

Languages spoken:

Afrikaans, Dutch, English, Spanish

Club name:

Tuks Athletics [Pretoria, RSA]

Coach:

Hennie Kriel [club], RSA

Injuries:

In November 2020 he tore tendons in his knee, ruling him out for several months. (up.ac.za, 26 Mar 2021; iol.co.za, 03 Jun 2021)

Between 2017 and 2020 he suffered a lower back fracture and hamstring problems. (up.ac.za, 26 Mar 2021)

Start:

He has been running since an early age, and received coaching for the first time at age 14. (back-track.co.za, 01 May 2016; worldathletics.org, 31 Oct 2015)

Reason:

He initially played football, but also enjoyed athletics as he was a fast runner. "When you are young you run and do all sports, so since creche I have been running fast, maybe not fast, but I was winning all the time by far, so I've always loved running." (worldathletics.org, 31 Oct 2015; back-track.co.za, 01 May 2016)

Ambition:

To compete at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. (Instagram profile, 15 May 2021)

Hero:

South African sprinters Wayde van Niekerk, Anaso Jobodwana, Akani Simbine and Henricho Bruintjies. (supersport.com, 01 Mar 2016)

Influence:

His mother. (worldathletics.org, 31 Oct 2015)

Philosophy:

"Don't think limits." (Instagram profile, 16 Jul 2016)

General Interest

General
INJURY WOES
He suffered several injuries between 2017 and 2020 that limited his ability to compete. Having injured his knee in November 2020, he returned to competition in March 2021 at a meet in Johannesburg, South Africa. "I did not want to race, as I still have a slight knee injury niggle [speaking in March 2021]. My coach, Hennie Kriel, convinced me to give it a go as he was excited about the times I am running during training. On crossing the finish line and seeing my time, it was like a weight lifted off my shoulders. I so needed the result. I am now more confident and excited to be back and running quality times." He says he did not consider quitting the sport despite his injury struggles. "How could I just quit when I was running PBs virtually every time I raced? I know I can be even faster. There is so much more I can give to the sport." (up.ac.za, 26 Mar 2021)

Milestones

He became the youngest athletics competitor to represent South Africa at the Olympic Games, when he competed in the 200m at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro at age 18 years and 96 days. (iol.co.za, 15 May 2021; SportsDeskOnline, 23 Jun 2021)

Social Media

Legend

:: Gold Medal Event
:: Silver Medal Event
:: Bronze Medal Event

Timing and scoring provided by OMEGA. Results powered by Atos