#TuksSport: Tlotliso Gift Leotlela ran his first international 100m victory of the season in Madrid, Spain

Posted on June 22, 2021

Tlotliso Gift Leotlela notched up his first international win of the season when he won the 100m with a time of 10.15 seconds at the Meeting Madrid held at the Estadio de Vallehermoso in Madrid, Spain on 19 June 2021.

The Tuks athlete describes it as the confidence booster he needed.

"It was not the perfect race. I know I am capable of running faster. But taking into account that we had to contend with a headwind during the final, I am satisfied. Instead of trying to clock a fast time, I focussed on the execution of my race. There are definitely things I can still work on to gain that extra hundredth of a second." 

Italy's Filippo Tortu was second in 10.27s and Mouhamadou Fall (France) third in 10.28s.

Tuks's Taylon Bieldt finished fourth (56.98s) in the 400m-hurdles on Saturday. 

Kyle Blignaut went one better yesterday in Poland when he finished second in the shot put. 
He threw 20.61 metres during the Janusza Kusocinskiego Meeting. Michał Haratyk (Poland) won with a distance of 20.73m. Jakub Szyszkowski (Poland) was third throwing 19.89m.  

Blignaut was third in his first two international meetings. Last week in the Czech Republic, he threw 20.66m. In his first international outing, he threw 20.54m. 

The Tuks athlete is confident of throwing further than 21 metres. 

"I had good form yesterday. During the warmups, I threw a massive one. I just could not repeat the performance during the competition. But I can feel there is a big throw that waits to happen."

Blignaut’s main goal for the season is to qualify for the final during the Tokyo Olympic Games. According, to him it means he will have to throw at least 21.40 metres. To him, it is a doable challenge. During the USSA Championships in Johannesburg, he set a personal best throwing 21.21 metres. 

The 19-year-old, Benjamin Richardson is certainly a sprinter to watch. On Saturday, during a league meeting at Tuks, he won the 100 metres in 10.17s. 

For now, he is South Africa's fourth-fastest sprinter. Only Leotlela 9.94s, Akani Simbine 9.99s and Shaun Maswanganyi 10.04s have been faster this season. At the end of last year, Richardson's best time was 10.31s. 

The TuksSport High School learner-athlete, Richardson, won the 100 and 200 metres during the South African Junior Championships. He "bagged" silver in the 200 metres during the South African Senior Championships. 

There is talk that he could be selected as a reserve for the 4x100m-relay team that will be competing at the Tokyo Olympic Games.

- Author Wilhelm De Swardt

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