Thabo Matebedi excited for Bayanda Walaza, Gift Leotlela's Brussels showdown

The race will feature some of the fastest sprinters in the world, including Africa’s speed king Ferdinand Omanyala, American Brandon Hicklin, and Jamaica’s Sandrey Davison. 

Speaking to SABC Sport, coach Thabo Matebedi, who trains both athletes at the Tshwane University of Technology, expressed pride in seeing two of his athletes compete on such a big stage.

"How often do you see two training partners from the same coach racing against each other on that level? Especially for a guy like me – when I walk in [to a room], people don't even recognise me," said Matebedi.

"They are going to be running against some of the best athletes in the world, and these are training partners who train together with the same coach, so if this was the PSL, it's like you are owning Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates at the same time."

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The reigning African Coach of the Year says he remains neutral, and encouraged both athletes to aim for a sub-10-second performance while enjoying the experience as part of their build-up to next month’s World Championships in Tokyo.

"I can tell you, it's very scary because you are on a level where you have your two kids fighting for the same thing, and you can't take a side because they both deserve it," he added.

"What I said to them is, I'm looking forward to both of them running sub-10s today, so I know, when I get to Italy for our training camp, what I must do.

"Today is their last race before the World Champs, I'm going to use this as a diagnosis of how far I am with our preparations for Tokyo – where I'll have three sprinters who have qualified.

"So after this race, I will look at technical awareness and what we need to do, and I'll have time from next Monday until the World Champs to finish the final preparations."