Akani Simbine: A nation’s pride despite Olympic heartbreak

You have got to feel for South African sprinter Akani Simbine.

On Sunday night in the 100m final at the Paris Olympic Games, he missed out on a medal by the narrowest of margins, just 0.01sec, as he had to settle for a fourth place finish in a ridiculously fast final.

Over the years the 30-year-old speedster has had his fair share of heartbreak in the 100m finals, having finished fifth in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, fourth in Tokyo in 2021, and now fourth in Paris, having made three Olympic finals in a row.

His near misses don’t stop there, but also in the 100m at the world championships, having finished fifth (2017 in London), fourth (2019 in Doha) and fifth (2022 in Eugene).

On Sunday, he broke his own South African record with his time of 9.82sec – a time that would have been good enough to beat former champions Carl Lewis, Linford Christie, Donovan Bailey, Maurice Greene and Justin Gatlin to win the gold medal at the Olympic Games from 1984 to 2004.

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But instead of feeling sorry for himself, Simbine revealed the reason why he is still running: “There’s no South African that’s ever been in three Olympic finals and placed higher than me… and that’s a great thing on its own. I might not be getting the medals, but what I’m doing is changing how sprinting is seen in South Africa and I’m motivating a lot of kids, and that is really great.”

He also warned that he hasn’t given up on winning a medal at the Paris Games ahead of the 4x100m relay later this week.

He said: “We’re not done yet. We’re coming back in the relay. We’ve got three good guys who were in the semis… and we’ve got another shot, so we gonna go for it.”

Akani, a nation is behind you.

Win or lose, South Africa is proud of you.

ALSO READ: Akani Simbine misses out by 0.01 in Olympic 100m final