Experienced sprinter Akani Simbine. Picture: Lintao Zhang/Getty Images
There are few athletes who deserve an Olympic medal more than Akani Simbine, and though we’ve said it before, we can say it again: This could be his year.
Simbine is one of the most underrated sprinters in the world, and he is barely mentioned in international prediction lists when medal contenders are discussed in the men’s 100m dash at major global championships.
But stats and medals don’t lie, and the experienced 30-year-old speedster has been one of the top athletes in his specialist event on the global circuit for the last decade.
He has dipped under 10 seconds for the last 10 seasons in succession, and he has won gold medals at the African Championships and the Commonwealth Games. He also picked up silver as part of the SA 4x200m team at the World Athletics Relays in 2019.
What he hasn’t done is secure a medal at the two most prestigious championships in athletics. He has, however, come close.
Simbine was fifth at the 2016 Rio Olympics and fourth at the Tokyo Games in 2021. He also finished either fourth or fifth at three straight editions of the World Championships between 2017 and 2022.
And if he ever has a chance to end his top-flight drought, this could be it, as he prepares to line up in a wide open contest in the 100m dash in Paris.
The South African rocket has displayed superb form this year, earning his sixth national title in the short sprint and winning Diamond League races in Suzhou and Oslo. And if he still had doubters, he showed his form last week by taking second place behind world champion Noah Lyles at the Diamond League meeting in London.
His 9.86 season’s best in the English capital was just 0.02 outside his own national record, and he’ll have as good a chance as anyone in the battle for Olympic gold.
In addition, Simbine will anchor the national 4x100m relay team, who will be equally confident of stepping on the podium.
As the anchor athlete, Simbine will be well supported by in-form rising star Benjamin Richardson, consistent sprinter Shaun Maswanganyi and national junior record holder Bradley Nkoana, who have all run under 10.04 this year. The national relay squad will also have the services of teenager Bayanda Walaza, Sinesipho Dambile, and potentially even Wayde van Niekerk.
Simbine is in a tie for fifth place in the men’s 100m world rankings this season (alongside Richardson) and the 4x100m relay team are ranked seventh, and all signs suggest they can go even quicker when the track and field competition gets under way next week.
In both events, Simbine has the opportunity to secure a well-earned medal. And with it, perhaps, he’ll finally be given the respect he deserves at the highest level of the sport.
