It remains unclear whether Leotlela will be available for the SA team at the World Relays in China next month.
Sprinter Gift Leotlela in action at the SA Athletics Championships in Pretoria. Picture: Anton Geyser/Gallo Images
After making a spectacular comeback on Thursday to win his first national senior title in the 100m final, Gift Leotlela pulled up with a hamstring niggle in the 200m heats at the SA Athletics Championships in Potchefstroom on Friday.
Leotlela, who represented South Africa at the 2016 Rio Olympics as a teenager, and went on to set a 100m personal best of 9.94 seconds in 2021, had since struggled with injury and was unable to find his best form.
Delivering a stunning performance on Thursday, he bounced back to shock the rest of the field, winning gold in the short sprint final at the national championships. He clocked 9.99 to edge out junior sensation Bayanda Walaza by 0.01.
In the process, Leotlela qualified for the World Championships to be held in Tokyo later this year and stuck up his hand for a place in the SA 4x100m relay team, who are expected to challenge for a medal at the World Relays in China next month.
On Friday, however, he pulled up at the top of the finishing straight in his first-round 200m heat and stepped off the track.
After getting a rub-down from a physio, Leotlela said he had “felt something” in his left hamstring and had opted not to take any chances.
His coach, Thabo Matebedi, later said that Leotlela had felt a nerve twitch and they were confident it wasn’t too serious, but he needed to be taken for a scan before they knew for sure.
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