Writing off Akani Simbine’s medal chances is unfair and naive

Before this season even started, lots of people had already written off Akani Simbine’s Olympic medal chances. How quick we are to forget.

Simbine has been accused of not having enough big match temperament, and there might be some truth to that. He tends to struggle with his start when he’s under pressure.

However, he is perhaps the most consistent sprinter in the world, having finished in the top five at two Olympic Games and three editions of the World Championships.

Last year, he was again among the favourites for a spot in the final at the World Championships but was disqualified for a false start in the semifinals.

Not all about medals

Honestly, we tend to focus too much on medals. In athletics, if you don’t finish in the top three, it is believed that you have lost. That is not the case, and being among the top five 100m sprinters on the planet is an incredible achievement.

Simbine is phenomenally good, and if he hasn’t earned our faith by now, he never will. To write off his chances at the Paris Olympics is both naive and unfair, as he proved once again when he beat American stars Christian Coleman and Fred Kerley to win his international season opener in 10.01 seconds at a Diamond League meeting in China at the weekend.

And Simbine is not the only athlete in form. It was a great weekend for South African athletics.

Excellent results

Middle-distance runner Ryan Mphahlele broke the SA mile record at a road race in Germany, clocking 3:56.45.

In Durban, at the national marathon championships, Elroy Gelant was brilliant, taking the men’s race in 2:09:32, holding off strong challenges from Mathews Leeto (2:09:47) and Stephen Mokoka (2:09:52), while Cian Oldknow again showed her immense potential over the 42km distance, winning the women’s race easily in 2:29:46.

Gelant clocked his second sub-2:10 performance of the year, and while he finished third, Mokoka flaunted his class once again.

Mokoka has now run under 2:11:00 every year for 15 seasons in succession. That’s remarkable. He’s as consistent as Simbine and deserves all the adulation he receives.