Tlotliso Gift Leotlela winning the 100m at the Commonwealth Youth Games (© Getty Images)
South Africa’s Tlotliso Leotlela produced a stunning 100m win in 10.20, with a 1.5m/s wind on his back, to clock the equal second-fastest time ever by a youth on the opening day of the athletics at the Commonwealth Youth Games in Samoa on Monday (7).
Leotlela came up just 0.01 shy of the world youth best of 10.19 set by Japan’s Yoshihide Kiryu in 2012.
Before his phenomenal run in Apia Park, a huge improvement of 0.27 over his previous best, Leotlela was thought to be more of a 200m specialist and had finished fifth over this distance at the IAAF World Youth Championships, Cali 2015 in July.
England’s Rechmial Miller and Scotland’s Cameron Tindle were second and third in Samoa in 10.39 and 10.42 respectively.
Nigeria’s Abolaji Omotayo Oluwaseu took the women’s 100m in 11.59.
Kenya’s Kumari Taki, the 1500m winner in Cali, added to his list of honours when he won the 1500m in 3:39.80 with his compatriot Lawi Kosgei, still only 16 and the bronze medallist in Cali, this time taking the silver in 3:40.77.
Australia’s Amy Harding-Delooze caused the surprise of the day when she came home in front to the favoured Kenyan and Ugandan runners to take the girls' 1500m title in a personal best of 4:18.02.
Uganda’s Peruth Chemutaia and Janat Chemusto were second and third in 4:18.22 and 4:19.48 while Kenya’s Joyline Cherotich, third in Cali, missed out on the podium in the four-way battle for the medals and finished fourth in 4:20.33.
South African discus thrower Werner Visser was more than three metres down on his Cali winning mark of 64.24m, but a throw of 60.94m sufficed for victory with Scotland’s George Evans, third in Cali, was second this time with 58.19m.
Also in the field, India’s Tejaswin Shankar won the boys’ high jump with 2.14m while Ghana’s Richard Seklorwu got the boys’ long jump gold with a wind-assisted 7.67m.
Phil Minshull for the IAAF
