Sprint king Simbine still ‘wants to get more out of the sport’

Zaahier Adams

South African sprint legend Akani Simbine has stressed that he will not hang up his spikes after narrowly missing out on yet another Olympic podium finish in Paris.

Simbine is South Africa’s fastest sprinter over 100m, having broken the national record with a time of 9.82 seconds to finish fourth in the Olympic final on Sunday evening. But it was still not enough for Simbine with American Noah Lyles taking the gold, Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson silver and another American, Fred Kerley, taking the bronze.

In a cruel twist of fate, it was Kerley that pipped Simbine to the bronze medal three years ago in Tokyo, too. Simbine has now finished fourth in two consecutive Olympic 100m finals – in Paris and Tokyo – and fifth in Rio de Janeiro back in 2016.

He also has two fourth-place finishes and a fifth in three IAAF World Championships.

Now 30 years old, Paris was considered Simbine’s last chance at winning an Olympic medal as he will be 34 by the time the Los Angeles 2028 Games comes around and possibly past his prime, but he remains defiant in refusing to give up trying just yet.

Great Britain’s Linford Christie became the oldest male Olympic 100m champion when he won in Barcelona in 1992 at the age of 32 years, three months and 30 days.

“I’m happy to have got a national record, I’m happy to have been in the final. I’m happy to be the fourth-fastest man in the world and I’m happy to have raced in three Olympic finals,” Simbine said.

“When I saw my time it consoled me. No way am I leaving the sport now. I started it very late in my life and I still want to get more out of the sport.

“I’m now 30 and running the fastest I ever have done in my life. Between Fred and me there was 0.01 seconds. What more can I ask from myself (than) to run faster than ever before?

“I was in the race right until the end. My coach and I have been working hard to make myself faster, to be in the fight for medals.”

Simbine draws inspiration to carry on sprinting from being a role model for aspirant South African athletes.

“It is a moment in history. There is no South African that has been in three Olympic finals and placed higher than me,” Simbine said.

“I am the one that is doing these things for the first time for every South African. That is a great thing on its own.

“I might not be getting the medal but what I am doing is changing how sprinting is seen in South Africa and motivating a lot of kids.”

There is some consolation for Simbine in the fact that he will get one last shot at achieving Olympic glory when he anchors the South African 4x100m relay team in Paris.

The South Africans are well placed to fight for a medal after fellow relay team members Benjamin Richardson and Shaun Maswanganyi also reached the 100m semi-finals in Paris.

“We’ve got another shot in the relay and we are going to go for it!” Simbine said.