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Cape Town - South African Luke Davids has the world at his feet after winning the 100m gold medal at the Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires.
The 17-year-old charged home in a wind-assisted 10.15 seconds to join Akani Simbine as a major 100m champion for 2018 after Simbine led home a Team SA 1-2 at the Commonwealth Games earlier this year.
According to Team SA website, Davids had crossed the finish line in 10.56 seconds in the first stage and in the second stage he lowered his time to 10.15 for a combined 20.71, the only athlete to have a combined tally under 21 seconds.
"The feeling of being the fastest young man in the world and being No1 is amazing," Davids told Team SA.
"I've been dreaming of this moment for months now. The spectators were incredible. The support they give you on the track, in the warm-up and at all times is sensational. People from Argentina seem as if they were from South Africa because of their kindness and, for that reason, I felt at home."
One thing that Davids does not feel at home with, however, is being compared to Usain Bolt, three-time Olympic champion in the 100m.
"I am very different," Davids said. "He is not me and I am not him. We have different personalities. I try to focus on my goal and what I have to do. I do not think much about comparing myself to him."
The 17-year-old Davids was flanked on the podium by Nigeria's Alaba Olukunle Akintola, who came second in the race, and Japan's Seiryo Ikeda, who was third.
Davids' victory in the second stage in can't go down as a personal best as there was a strong following wind of 3.4m/s, which is stronger than the permitted 2.0m/s tailwind.
Jason Tito had set a personal best of 7.59m in the stage one long jump competition, to be a medal candidate, but he failed to register a distance in the second stage.
However, Dane Roets added a 17.34m effort tin the second stage to add to her stage one distance of 17.30m to win the bronze medal and take South Africa's tally to five with one day of competition left, in nanjing in 2014 Team SA earned one gold medal.
In the rugby sevens, South Africa lost for the second time in the week to Japan, this time 28-5, in the bronze medal match. Gold went to Argentina who beat France 24-14 in the final to end the championship undefeated. The victory also doubled as long-awaited revenge on the defeat they suffered at the hands of the French during the Nanjing 2014 final.
