Vusi Voetsek: Simbine’s shock dismissal a sad reflection of SA team in Budapest

As gracious as he was in his expulsion, Akani Simbine looked to be as frustrated as he was disappointed after he was booted from the 100m semifinals for a false start at the World Championships in Budapest last weekend.

And who can blame him? It’s a harsh rule which could do with some adjustments.

The false start rule has been tightened over the years, in an attempt to avoid regular delays, to the point where sprinters can’t make even the slightest error.

After being given multiple warnings back in the day, athletes were then granted only one warning each.

Then, in a big move by global officials, it was decided that the whole field would receive one joint warning. And then, as if they were on a rampage, they decided any sprinter who false started would be out. No warning. Just gone.

In addition, Simbine did not leave the blocks before the gun, but because he was within 0.1 of the gun being fired, the rules stated that he had to take a walk.

Many have called for new regulations as sprinters start much faster now than they did when scientists decided how long an athlete can realistically wait before reacting, due to travelling sound waves and other technical issues.

Simbine insisted he had reacted to the sound of the gun, and he seemed a little bewildered that he was disqualified.

And it’s easy to understand his feelings. The rules are probably too tight, and a little unfair.

SA’s other athletes in Budapest

Simbine’s disqualification summed up South Africa’s efforts at the competition — sad and disappointing.

Not too much was expected of our other athletes in Budapest, but that does not mean we should just accept the poor showing.

South Africa have generally always had a few athletes to get excited about, but besides Simbine, this was not the case this year, and the performances showed it.

Yes, many of the athletes who took part are still young, but no one threatened to surprise and win a medal, not even our one-time great Wayde van Niekerk.

Seeing the 400m world record holder fade to finish last in the final on Thursday night was extremely sad, and I so feel for him.

A silly injury, while playing in a charity touch rugby game in 2017, robbed Van Niekerk of his best years and while we can only applaud him for making a comeback and wish him well for the future I suspect he won’t reach the great heights he once did again.

I hope I am wrong, but Van Niekerk’s best days are probably over.

Kyle Blignaut, our big shot-put prospect, flopped as well, as did most of our other sprinters and competitors in Budapest.

The next Olympic Games are a year away, in Paris, and there’s work to do for our track and field men and women.

But while South Africa’s athletics team may have performed poorly at this year’s championships, the competition has been nothing short of outstanding with many special performances.

Here’s hoping for our athletes to get their act together in order to join the winning party in Paris next year!