Akani Simbine satisfied despite defeat at ASA Grand Prix

He didn’t pick up a win, but national 100m record holder Akani Simbine was satisfied after making a rare appearance over the 200m distance at the third and final leg of the ASA Grand Prix track and field series at UJ Stadium in Johannesburg on Wednesday night.

Competing in only his third 200m race since 2020, after opting to focus on the 100m sprint in recent years, Simbine settled for second place behind Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo.

Tebogo, who earned medals in the 100m and 200m events at last year’s World Athletics Championships in Budapest, peeled away in the closing stages of the half-lap contest to win in 19.94 seconds. Simbine was second in 20.32.

“I’m happy with the performance. It was actually very conservative and I didn’t have any expectations because I haven’t run a 200m race in years (his last was in 2022),” said Simbine, who was competing in his second race of the year after setting a national 150m best (15.04) in Pretoria last month.

“For me it was just about coming out here and running what was a training run for us to see where we’re at. I’m feeling healthy and looking forward to the rest of the season.”

Simbine, who has finished in the top five in the 100m final at five major global championships since 2016, said he would now step back down to the 100m event for the rest of the season, with his sights set on an Olympic medal at the Paris Games in August.

‘Less than 50%’

Tebogo, meanwhile, fired a warning at Simbine and the rest of the world’s fastest men, claiming he was nowhere near full fitness.

The 20-year-old rocket, who had been based in Potchefstroom for the last four months, also won the 400m race at the ASA Grand Prix in Pretoria last week in 44.29.

“I would say we’re still at less than 50% because we haven’t included some quick training to activate those fast-twitch fibres. I’m just using what my body has with a little bit of gym work,” Tebogo said.

“But racing against Simbine was the best competition we have come across in South Africa, and it was great for the crowd and all the people watching at home.”

SA relay record

Meanwhile, in the mixed 4x400m, the SA team set a national record of 3:14.97, holding off a challenge from a Kenyan quartet who finished second in 3:16.26.

The South African quartet – Amy Naude, Zeney Geldenhuys, Zakithi Nene and Gardeo Isaacs – took nearly five seconds off the national mark of 3:19.63 which had been set by a different combination of athletes when they finished fourth at the African Games in Ghana last week.

Competing in one of the newest official events in track and field, Geldenhuys felt they were making good progress.

“It feels great. The 4x400m mixed relay is still a new event for us, and last week in Ghana they broke the SA record and tonight we broke it again,” Geldenhuys said.

“We’re very happy about that because we’re taking it step by step and the national squad is getting stronger.”