Latest news with #Simbine
The South African
2 days ago
- Sport
- The South African
Akani Simbine suffers rare off day in London Diamond League
South Africa's sprint king Akani Simbine suffered his first loss of the season in the men's 100m on Saturday, finishing fifth at the London Diamond League in a tightly contested race that brought together several of the fastest men in the world. Simbine, who had been unbeaten in Diamond League races this year and carried impressive momentum after clocking 9.95 seconds in Rabat, crossed the line in 10.11 seconds. The race was won by Jamaican Oblique Seville, who stunned the crowd at the Olympic Stadium with a blistering 9.86, finishing ahead of Olympic gold medallist Noah Lyles, who took second in 10.00. Simbine entered the race with a strong pedigree: 12 Diamond League victories and years of experience at the highest level. But in London, he struggled to match the explosive starts and finishing power of his rivals. Despite a clean break from the blocks, the 30-year-old lacked his usual drive in the final 40 metres and was overtaken by a surging pack. 'It wasn't my best race,' Simbine said in a post-race interview. 'I felt good coming in, but I didn't execute the way I needed to in the final stretch. Still, it's all part of the process building towards the World Championships.' While Saturday's race was a setback, Simbine remains a top medal contender for the upcoming World Athletics Championships. His consistent sub-10 second form throughout the season – and a track record of delivering when it counts – keep him in the conversation among sprinting's elite. His coach, Werner Prinsloo, echoed this sentiment, saying, 'We've always known London would be tough. 'But Akani's training, his focus, and his body are all in peak condition. This was just a sharpen-up – not a stumble.' Simbine, a finalist in multiple Olympic and World Championship events, remains South Africa's most accomplished 100m sprinter and a beacon for the next generation of athletes. Elsewhere, Zakithi Nene, who holds the fastest 400m time in the world this year, had to settle for third behind British duo Charles Dobson, who was a surprise winner in 44.14, with Matthew Hudson-Smith who took second in 44.29. Nene stopped the clock in 44.29. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
TimesLIVE
4 days ago
- Sport
- TimesLIVE
Akani Simbine, Zakithi Nene set for Diamond League return in London
Relay sprint stars Akani Simbine and Zakithi Nene return to Diamond League action in London on Saturday as they step up their preparation for the world championships in Tokyo in September. The duo, who anchored the South African men's 4x100m and 4x400m teams to gold at World Relays in China in May, have spent more than the past month in training, away from competition. Simbine, winner of the 60m bronze at the world indoor championships in March, has gone unbeaten over 100m so far this season with six wins out of six. But he'll do well to make it seven on Saturday when he goes up against Olympic 100m and 200m champions, American Noah Lyles and Letsile Tebogo of Botswana. At this meet last year Simbine finished second behind Lyles — but ahead of Tebogo — while dipping under 9.90sec for the second time in his career. The South African speedster achieved that two more times during the Paris Olympics the next month, lowering his national mark to 9.82 while finishing fourth in the final. Also in the line-up are Jamaicans Oblique Seville and Ackeem Blake as well as the British trio of Zharnel Hughes, world indoor champion Jeremiah Azu and Louie Hinchliffe, all members of the relay outfit that took bronze behind South Africa in Paris. Nene, who has notched up two second places in Diamond League meets this year as well as a victory in Nairobi, faces five Olympic medallists as well as Zambian Commonwealth Games 400m champion Muzala Samukonga. Vernon Norwood was part of the victorious US 4x400m ensemble in France, with Bayapo Ndori and Busang Kebinatshipi competing for runners-up Botswana. Olympic 400m silver medallist Matthew Hudson-Smith and Charlie Dobson ran for the third-placed British team. But Nene owns the fastest season's best in the field, courtesy of the 43.76 he clocked in Kenya. The meeting will be broadcast on SuperSport channel 208 from 3pm.
Eyewitness News
27-05-2025
- Sport
- Eyewitness News
Akani Simbine snatches a 3rd Diamond League win
Palesa Manaleng 26 May 2025 | 12:29 Diamond League Akani Simbine FILE: South Africa's Akani Simbine at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Photo: Jewel SAMAD / AFP JOHANNESBURG – Akani Simbine claimed his third 100m Diamond League win of 2025 in Rabat on Sunday., The 31-year-old sprinter stretched his unbeaten 100m record to five international meets. His pace over the final 30 or so metres was too much for the field as he streaked to an easy win, clocking 9.95sec ahead of Kenyan Ferdinand Omanyala (10.05) and Olympic bronze medallist Fred Kerley of the US (10.07). "I feel great, I feel confident, I am happy that I could take the win today and that I can finish this month strong and healthy. Another sub-10 in the bag, so slowly we go down in time which is really great. I am looking forward to the rest of the season and going back to training in Italy to get ready for the next Diamond League' said Simbine to reporters afterwards. READ MORE: Akani Simbine sprints to a world-leading time at Botswana Golden Grand Prix Akani Simbine burns rubber at the Diamond League series in Xiamen Akani Simbine continues to dominate 100m with win at Atlanta City Games Simbine's 9.90 seconds from the Botswana Golden Grand Prix in April remains as the official world lead for 2025. "It's amazing to have this kind of competition in Africa. I wish we had so much more of them. Look at the stands, people love watching sports. It's really great to run on this continent, showcasing African talent and show the world that we can host great meets." The Olympian has won three 100m Diamond League events this season and a medal at the World Indoors and anchored Team SA to gold in the 4x100m World Relays. Pure Power 💥 Akani Simbine 🇿🇦 continues to lay down the law in the men's 100m, dropping a cool 9.95 seconds ⏱️ last night at #RabatDL 🇲🇦#DiamondLeague 💎 — Wanda Diamond League (@Diamond_League) May 26, 2025
Daily Maverick
27-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Maverick
Akani Simbine is leading South Africa's greatest-ever crop of sprinters
There is seemingly a young, world-class sprinter around every corner in South Africa. South Africa's sprinting stocks have been filled to the brim, and in some distances are pouring over. Akani Simbine is leading a pack of mostly young, incredibly fast sprinters who are starting to dominate the track globally. Simbine is in the form of his life, having won all five 100m races he's participated in this year, as well as opening his season with his first major medal, sealing bronze in the 60m Indoor Championships. Three of those five wins have been at Diamond League events, with his most recent victory this past weekend in Rabat, Morocco, in a time of 9.95 seconds. It came against a strong field that included Kenya's Ferdinand Omanyala, two-time Olympic 100m medalist Fred Kerley — who finished second and third respectively — as well as America's Kyree King and Botswana's first Olympic champion, Letsile Tebogo. The unprecedented run of success this year is built on a career of consistency by Simbine. In his first 100m race of the year, at the Botswana Golden Grand Prix at the start of April, Simbine ran 9.90 seconds — still currently the world lead — to become the first athlete ever to run sub-10 seconds in the 100m for 11 consecutive years. For the better part of the past decade Simbine has been carrying the 100m sprinting baton on his own internationally, but over the last few seasons a plethora of world-class sprinters have landed on the track. The one that has attracted the most attention is 19-year-old Bayanda Walaza. The attention is not unwarranted as this past weekend Walaza ran a blistering 9.94 seconds in Zagreb, Croatia — the fastest any South African under-20 athlete has ever run. The speedy dash put Walaza firmly into the national record books, as the tied fourth-fastest South African across 100m of all time. Only Simbine (9.82), Benjamin Richardson (9.86) and Shaun Maswanganyi (9.91) have ever gone faster. Depth A sign of South Africa's incredible depth is that Richardson (21) and Maswanganyi (24) are not even at the peak of their powers yet. South Africa's greatest-ever sprinters are all active right now. To add to them, Walaza'a 9.94 seconds is tied with Wayde van Niekerk and Gift Leotlela, whose personal bests are the same mark. Van Niekerk's history of injury is well documented. Leotlela though, having set that mark in 2021, is nearing being back to his best, which adds another name to South Africa's sprinting base. In April this year, 27-year-old Leotlela won the national championship title in the 100m dash in a time of 9.99 seconds, inching quicker than Walaza by 0.01 seconds. This victory came after a few seasons of injury and subsequent loss of form. Leotlela beat out an extremely competitive field that included Richardson, who placed third. The standard of competition was so high that Bradley Nkoana (20) — part of South Africa's 4x100m silver medallist team at the Paris Olympic Games, as well as bronze medalist at the under-20 World Athletics Championships last year — didn't even make the final. One-lap specialists South Africa's strength in depth is evident in the one-lap sprint as well. While there is no one standout like Simbine in the 100m version of the sprint, there is a world-class young group developing. The oldest of the bunch, Zakithi Nene (27), is having a breakthrough season of note after a disappointing Paris Olympic Games in which he failed to make the 400m final. Since then, the visibly stronger Nene has been in incredible form. He ran a personal-best of 44.22 seconds at the National Championships in April, comfortably beating a strong field — in which none of the eight runners went over 46 seconds. In Nene's most recent race, at the Diamond League in Rabat this weekend, he finished in a close second after being beaten at the dip by America's Jacory Patterson. Nene came in at 44.46 seconds. Lythe Pillay (22) is another with supreme control over the one-lap sprint, but has struggled so far to consistently replicate the form that made him a junior world champion. Pillay is a two-time national champion in the 400m and has a personal best of 44.31 seconds, exhibiting his clear potential. South Africa currently has two of the best under-20 runners in the 400m sprint coming through. Udeme Okon is only 19 years old and has already broken 45 seconds, claiming second place behind Nene at the National Champs in 44.99 seconds. He also won the Under-20 World Championship comfortably last year in Peru. Schoolboy Leendert Koekemoer (18), meanwhile, has a personal best of 45.03 seconds — which also came at the nationals. Koekemoer and Okon, despite their youthful ages, were both part of the 4x400m team that claimed gold and a national record at the World Relays in Guangzhou, China, earlier this month. Not only do they have the talent, they have the mettle, too. South Africa also has the always consistent Gardeo Isaacs, who along with Nene were the other members of the relay team, to fall back on as well as US-based Antonie Nortje. South Africa's sprinting depth has never been this deep before. It means that while athletes like Simbine are a shoo-in for a podium position at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo in September, both groups of athletes are also capable of returning with gold medals around their necks at the relay portion of the event — as they did at the World Relays. DM
IOL News
26-05-2025
- Sport
- IOL News
Bayanda Walaza: The rising star set to succeed Akani Simbine as South Africa's sprint king
POISED FOR GREATNESS Bayanda Walaza, South Africa's teenage sprint sensation, is poised to succeed Akani Simbine as the nation's sprint king after setting a new SA junior 100m record of 9.94 seconds. Picture: BackpagePix His time in Rabat of 9.95 was well ahead of Kenyan Ferdinand Omanyala (10.05) in second and Fred Kerley (10.07) in third. The 31-year-old Simbine is also unbeaten in five races now, following his victory in the Diamond League in Rabat on Sunday. Simbine also has the fastest 100m time in the world this year so far, with his 9.90 seconds he clocked in Gaborone, Botswana, on April 12. The contribution Akani Simbine has made to South African sprinting cannot be questioned, as he has been the flag-bearer for a generation. Bayanda Walaza Sets New SA Junior Record with 9.94, Poised to Succeed Simbine Despite his incredible form at his age, Simbine surely can't remain SA's top sprinter for much longer, as teenager Bayanda Walaza just keeps getting better. Walaza turned 19 in February, and despite his ungainly running style, he just keeps producing faster times. On Saturday, Walaza clocked 9.94 at the Boris Hankezovic Memorial meeting in Zagreb. It's yet another SA junior record, and he tied the fourth fastest time ever run by a South African. It's also the third fastest time in the world this year. Last year, Walaza was part of the SA men's 4x100m team which claimed silver at the Paris Olympics. That team was led by Simbine, in what to date has been his only major international medal. Despite his lack of medals on the biggest stage, the consistency and longevity of Simbine has been phenomenal. Testament to this is the fact that Simbine has run sub-10 in the 100m for the last 11 years in a row - which no other sprinter has ever achieved. Simbine's spikes indeed will be big ones to fill, but there's little doubt that Walaza will be up to the task when that day comes. @Michael_Sherman IOL Sport
