Akani Simbine ‘feeling confident’ as he chases elusive Olympic medal

Experienced sprinter Akani Simbine says he is ready to hit the track, as he sets his sights on his first Olympic medal in the blue riband 100m sprint at the Paris Games.

With four medals in the bag, Team South Africa will be looking at the athletics squad to carry their medal hopes in the second half of the Games, and Simbine is expected to lead the charge.

After finishing fifth at the 2016 Rio Olympics and fourth at the Tokyo Games in 2021, the 30-year-old athlete again lines up among the contenders in the men’s 100m heats at 11.55am on Saturday morning.

His season has included two Diamond League victories, and he clocked 9.86 seconds in London two weeks ago, just 0.02 outside his national record.

“I’m in the best shape of my life. For me it’s something that I feel… and I’m confident enough to feel I can go for gold at the Olympics,” Simbine said.

‘Me and my lane’

While four athletes have run quicker than him this year, Simbine said he was in a good space and wasn’t concentrating on his opponents.

“I used to look at who’s coming into the competition, who I’m going to be racing against, but I think this year is different because I’ve just been focussed on myself and my journey, and how I’m going to put my race together,” he said.

“That has been working for me this whole year and that is how I’m looking at it here . It’s just me and my lane.”

Simbine, who was aiming for a spot in the 100m final on Sunday night, was also set to anchor the national 4x100m relay team next week.

But while the SA squad were gunning for a few athletics medals, middle-distance runners Ryan Mphahlele and Tshepo Tshite didn’t get them off to a great start on Friday, on the opening day of the track and field competition at the Paris Games.

Mphahlele finished 12th in his first-round 1 500m heat in 3:38.48 and Tshite was 13th in his race in 3:36.87, with both athletes being relegated to the repechage round to be held at 7.15pm on Saturday night.

Wildschutt record

Later on Friday, however, Adrian Wildschutt would have raised spirits in the national squad by breaking his own South African record in the men’s 10 000m final.

Sticking with a fast pace throughout the race, Wildschutt took 10th position in 26:50.64, breaking his national mark of 26:55.54 set in California earlier this year.

Middle-distance runner Prudence Sekgodiso cruised into the women’s 800m semifinals, to be held on Sunday, finishing second in her first-round heat in 1:59.84 and progressing automatically to the penultimate round.

In the men’s shot put, Kyle Blignaut, who was sixth at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago, narrowly missed out on a place in the final.

Blignaut ended 13th in the qualifying round with a best throw of 20.78m, falling just three centimetres short of a spot in the medal battle.

Other sports

Elsewhere on Friday, in the swimming pool, Rebecca Meder was 11th in the women’s 200m individual medley semifinals in 2:10.67, missing out on the final. But she too broke new ground, shattering her own South African record of 2:10.95.

In the men’s hockey tournament, the SA team picked up their first win (in their fifth match) with a 5-2 victory over hosts France.

In rowing, John Smith and Christopher Baxter took third position in the men’s pair B final in 6:27:11, after missing out on the medal hunt which was contested in the A final.

On the golf course, Erik van Rooyen did well to stay within reach of the top three in the men’s tournament.

Van Rooyen fired a 69, moving to four-under par – five shots off the lead – while Christiaan Bezuidenhout (71) was sitting on one-under at the halfway stage of the tournament.