Akani Simbine

Akani Simbine (born 21 September 1993) is a South African sprinter specialising in the 100 metres event.[1] He was fifth at the 2016 Summer Olympics in the men's 100 metres and was the 100 metres African record holder with a time of 9.84 seconds set in July 2021 until broken by Ferdinand Omanyala in September 2021.

Akani Simbine
Simbine at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Personal information
NationalitySouth African
Born (1993-09-21) 21 September 1993
Kempton Park, Gauteng, South Africa[1]
Height176 cm (5 ft 9 in)[2]
Weight74 kg (163 lb)[2]
Sport
CountrySouth Africa
SportAthletics
Event(s)
University teamUniversity of Pretoria Tuks HPC
Coached byWerner Prinsloo[3]
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)
  • 100 m: 9.84 (2021, AR)
  • 150 m: 15.08 A (2020)
  • 200 m: 19.95 A (2017)[4][1]
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  South Africa
World Relays
Gold medal – first place 2021 Chorzów 4×100 m relay
Silver medal – second place2019 Yokohama4×200 m relay
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place2018 Gold Coast100 m
Silver medal – second place2018 Gold Coast4×100 m relay
Silver medal – second place2022 Birmingham100 m
African Championships
Gold medal – first place2018 Asaba100 m
Gold medal – first place2018 Asaba4×100 m relay
Gold medal – first place2016 Durban4×100 m relay
Silver medal – second place2022 Mauritius100 m
Bronze medal – third place2016 Durban100 m
Universiade
Gold medal – first place2015 Gwangju100 m
Bronze medal – third place2015 Gwangju4×100 m relay
Representing Africa
Continental Cup
Bronze medal – third place2018 Ostrava100 m

Simbine was a World Championships finalist in the men's 100 metres in 2017 (fifth) and 2019 (fourth), and was 100 metres champion at the 2018 African Championships and 2018 Commonwealth Games. In the 4 × 100 metres relay, he helped South Africa become champions at the African Championships in 2016 and 2018, and place second at the 2018 Commonwealth Games with a South African record time of 38.24 seconds. He anchored South Africa to gold at the 2021 World Relays. Simbine has finished inside the top 5 in the last four major championship 100m races, including 4th in 2019 World Athletics Championships – Men's 100 metres and Athletics at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Men's 100 metres missing out on the bronze medal to Canadian sprinter Andre De Grasse.

Biography

2013 World Championships

He competed in the 100 metres event at the 2013 World Championships in Athletics.[5]

2015 Universiade

Whilst an Information Science student at the University of Pretoria,[2] Simbine equalled the South African 100m record and set an event record on 9 July 2015 in his gold medal-winning run at the 2015 Universiade in Gwangju, South Korea.[6]

2016 South African record and Olympic Games

Simbine again broke the South African 100m record with a time of 9.89 seconds at the Gyulai István Memorial in Székesfehérvár on 18 July 2016.[7] He finished fifth in 9.94 seconds in the 100 m final of the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro on 14 August 2016.[8]

2017

In the first meet of the 2017 IAAF Diamond League in Doha, Simbine won the 100 m event with a time of 9.99 seconds.[9]

2018

Simbine won the 2018 Commonwealth Games 100 m final in 10.03 seconds, relegating pre-race favourite Yohan Blake into third.

2020

Simbine started his 2020 season with a 150 metre race at the University of Johannesburg Stadium on 14 February, equalling the South African record time (15.08) while jogging to the finish line, but with no wind information.[10][11] He ran his first 100 m for the season on 14 March at the University of Pretoria Tuks Stadium. Unsure whether or not he would be able to compete later in the season because of the rapidly spreading COVID-19 pandemic, he pushed to the finish line in a world-leading time of 9.91 seconds in the heats.[12]

Simbine stopped track training in March and didn't get permission to resume training again until July, weeks after other sports had resumed training after he pleaded with Athletics South Africa to allow athletes back onto the track.[13][14] He would not be able to compete until leaving South Africa in mid-August for Europe, winning a series of 100 m competitions in Marseille, Rovereto, and Bellinzona in times of 10.19, 10.17, and 10.02 seconds respectively. He finished his season in September with a 100 m victory at the Rome Diamond League, trailing Arthur Cissé of the Ivory Coast for the first 85 m before passing to win in 9.96 seconds.[14]

2021

Simbine started the season with a 10.00 seconds win in the 100 metres at the Athletix Invitational in Johannesburg on 23 March, which would have been a leading time but for the wind velocity, which was just over the allowable +2.0 m/s limit.[15] He broke 10 seconds at the Gauteng North Championships at the University of Pretoria on 27 March, winning 9.99 seconds ahead of Gift Leotlela (10.20) into a –3.0 wind. According to SuperSport, Simbine claimed that the "windy conditions were some of the worst I ever raced in."[16]

On 15 April at the South African Championships in Pretoria, Simbine competed in the men's 100 metres, finishing his first round heat in 10.11 seconds. He then won his semi-final in 9.82 seconds, the fastest he had ever run, but the wind was again over the limit for record purposes at +2.8 m/s.[17] The next day, he clocked his 29th sub-10-second time with 9.99 seconds to win the final, finishing 0.17 seconds ahead of second placing Gift Leotlela's 10.16 seconds.[18]

Two weeks later, on 2 May, Simbine anchored South Africa to gold in the men's 4 × 100 metres relay at the 2021 World Relays. He received the baton three metres behind Brazil's Paulo André de Oliveira but managed to close the gap and finish one-hundredth of a second ahead of Brazil with a time of 38.71 seconds.[19]

On 6 July, racing at the Hungarian Athletics Grand Prix, Simbine set a new national and African record of 9.84 seconds in winning the final.

On 1 August, At the 2020 Summer Olympics, held in Tokyo, Japan, Simbine finished fourth in a time of 9.93 seconds, behind winner Lamont Marcell Jacobs of Italy, with a time of 9.80 seconds.[20]

Statistics

Information from World Athletics profile unless otherwise noted.[1]

Personal bests
EventTime (s)Wind (m/s)VenueDateNotes
100 m9.84+1.2Székesfehérvár, Hungary6 July 2021
9.82 A w+2.8Pretoria, South Africa15 April 2021Altitude-assisted and wind-assisted
150 m15.08 ANWIJohannesburg, South Africa15 February 2020Altitude-assisted, no wind information
200 m19.95 A+1.7Pretoria, South Africa4 March 2017Altitude-assisted
4×100 m relay37.65—Doha, Qatar4 October 2019African record[note 1]
4×200 m relay1:20.42—Yokohama, Japan12 May 2019African record[note 2]

International championship results
Representing  South Africa and Africa (Continental Cup only)
YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventTimeWind (m/s)Notes
2013UniversiadeKazan, Russia9th100 m10.49−0.4
7th4×100 m relay45.82—
World ChampionshipsMoscow, Russia37th100 m10.38−0.3[22]
2014Commonwealth GamesGlasgow, Scotland11th100 m10.21−0.5
5th200 m20.37+0.5PB
4th4×100 m relay38.35—NR[note 3]
African ChampionshipsMarrakesh, Morocco8th100 m13.14+0.4
2015UniversiadeGwangju, Korea1st100 m9.970.0NR, GR[24]
3rd4×100 m relay39.68—Anchor[25]
World ChampionshipsBeijing, China11th100 m10.02+0.9
17th200 m20.37+0.4
DNF (semi 2)4×100 m relay——
2016African ChampionshipsDurban, Africa3rd100 m10.05 w+2.4Wind-assisted
1st4×100 m relay38.84—
Olympic GamesRio de Janeiro, Brazil5th100 m9.94+0.2
2017World ChampionshipsLondon, England5th100 m10.01−0.8
18th200 m20.62 w+2.1Wind-assisted
2018Commonwealth GamesGold Coast, Australia1st100 m10.03+0.8SB
2nd4×100 m relay38.24—NR[note 4]
African ChampionshipsAsaba, Nigeria1st100 m10.25−2.1[27]
1st4×100 m relay38.25—Anchor[28]
Continental CupOstrava, Czech Republic3rd100 m10.110.0
DNF4×100 m relay——
2019World RelaysYokohama, Japan9th4×100 m relay38.66—
2nd4×200 m relay1:20.42—AR[note 2]
World ChampionshipsDoha, Qatar4th100 m9.93+0.6
5th4×100 m relay37.73—
2021World RelaysChorzów, Poland1st(stripped)4×100 m relay38.71—Anchor[19]
Olympic Games Tokyo, Japan 4th 100 m 9.93 +0.1
–4×100 m relayDNF—
2022 African Championships Port Louis, Mauritius 2nd 100 m 9.93 +4.5
6th (h)4×100 m relay40.99—
World Championships Eugene, United States 5th 100 m 10.01 -0.1
6th 4 × 100 m relay 38.10 —
2023 World Championships Budapest, Hungary 3rd (h) 100 m 9.971
5th (h) 4 × 100 m relay 37.722

1Disqualified in the semifinals

2Did not finish in the final

Circuit wins and national titles

Seasonal bests
Year100 m200 m
201010.6121.91
201110.5721.27
201210.1920.68
201310.3620.79
201410.0220.37
20159.9720.23
20169.8920.16
20179.9219.95
20189.93—
20199.9220.27
20209.91 A—
20219.8420.29 A w

See also

Notes
  1. Shared with Thando Dlodlo, Simon Magakwe, and Clarence Munyai for South Africa. Simbine anchored.[21]
  2. Shared with Simon Magakwe, Chederick van Wyk, and Sinesipho Dambile. Simbine anchored.[29]
  3. Shared with Henricho Bruintjies, Simon Magakwe, and Ncincilili Titi for South Africa. Simbine anchored.[23]
  4. Shared with Henricho Bruintjies, Emile Erasmus, and Anaso Jobodwana for South Africa. Simbine anchored.[26]

References
  1. "ATHLETE PROFILE Akani SIMBINE". World Athletics. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  2. "SIMBINE Akani". gwangju2015.kr. 2015 Summer Universiade. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  3. Breakfast, Siviwe (28 June 2018). "IAAF Diamond League: Simbine faces tough field in 100m". thesouthafrican.com. The South African. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
  4. "Simbine makes history, runs fastest 100m in SA". sport24.co.za. News24. 6 March 2017. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
  5. "South Africa at the 2013 World Championships in Athletics". IAAF. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  6. "Universiade 2015 Broken Records". gwangju2015.com. 9 July 2015. Archived from the original on 8 September 2015. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  7. Christopher Maduewesi (18 July 2016). "Akani Simbine storms to new South African 100m record of 9.89s!". makingofchamps.com. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
  8. "Bolt blasts to 100m gold hat-trick". Retrieved 29 August 2016.
  9. "Akani Simbine streaks to victory in Doha! | IOL". Retrieved 6 May 2017.
  10. "Semenya and Simbine begin new season with a bang". iol.co.za. Independent Online (IOL)/African News Agency. 18 February 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  11. "Akani Simbine EQUALS 150m SA RECORD!!". backtrack.co.za. BackTrack Sports. 15 February 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  12. Isaacson, David (14 March 2020). "Akani Simbine runs 100m like he's at the Olympics". timeslive.co.za. The Times. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  13. Isaacson, David (14 July 2020). "Simbine and Olympic hopefuls can train at last". Business Day (South Africa). Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  14. Mohamed, Ashfak (21 September 2020). "Despite "stupid-crazy Covid year", Simbini's march to the Olympics continues". Diamond Fields Advertiser (DFA). Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  15. Isaacson, David (23 March 2021). "Wind assistance denies Akani Simbine the world lead in 100m at Ruimsig". TimesLIVE. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  16. "Simbine clocks 9.99s against strong head wind". SuperSport. 28 March 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  17. Mohamed, Ashfak (15 April 2021). "Drama in Pretoria as strong wind denies Akani Simbine a new SA 100m record". Independent Online (South Africa). Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  18. Isaacson, David (16 April 2021). "Simbine claims his 29th sub-10 100m at SA champs". Daily Dispatch. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  19. "Simbine spurs South Africa to World Relays victory". Agence France-Presse via Jamaica Observer (2 May 2021). Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  20. Sport24, Lynn Butler-. "Akani Simbine on heartbreaking 100m finish: 'It's going to drive me even more'". Sport. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  21. de Villiers, Ockert (4 October 2019). "South Africa men's relay sprinters keep medal hopes alive". Independent Online (South Africa). Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  22. "100 Metres Men - Round 1". IAAF. 10 August 2013. p. 2. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  23. "ATHLETICS MEN'S 4 X 100M RELAY FINAL". 2014 Commonwealth Games. 8 August 2014. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  24. Butler, Nick (9 July 2015). "Superb Simbine breaks Summer Universiade record en route to Gwangju 2015 sprinting crown". Inside the Games. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  25. "ATHLETICS MEN'S 4X100M RELAY FINAL" (PDF). 2015 Summer Universiade. 12 July 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  26. Haden, Alexis (28 December 2018). "GWG2018: SA men’s relay team race to silver and new national record [video]". The South African. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  27. Oboh, Mike (2 August 2018). "Simbine, Ta Lou and Obiri claim African titles". Reuters. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  28. "Semenya, Simbine lead South Africa's Asaba medals charge". Independent Online (South Africa). 5 August 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  29. Botton, Wesley (12 May 2019). "Simbine carries SA relay team to silver medal". The Citizen (South African newspaper). Retrieved 18 May 2021.
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