After missing out on a podium finish in the men’s 100m at the Olympic Games in Paris on Sunday night, South African sprinter Akani Simbine has warned the world that he’s not done yet.
Simbine set a new South African record with a blitsige time of 9.82s, but it wasn’t enough to win a medal as he finished fourth behind American Noah Lyles (9.79s), Jamaican Kishane Thompson (9.79s) and nog ’n American Fred Kerley (9.81s) in a thrilling race.
Following the drama, Simbine is quoted by the Olympics website as saying: “It is a moment in history. There is no South African that has been in three Olympic finals and placed higher than me.
“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.”
With 100m semifinalists Shaun Maswanganyi and Benjamin Richardson teaming up with him in the 4x100m relay which starts on Thursday, Simbine adds: “We are not done, we are coming back in the relay. We’ve got three good guys that were in the semis. I was in the final.
“We’ve got another shot in the relay and we are going to go for it!”
In action for Team SA at the Olympics today are rock climber Lauren Mukheibir at 10am in the women’s boulder and lead semifinal, Andrew Birkett and Hamish Lovemore in the men’s kayak doubles 500m heats at 11.30am, Esti Olivier and Tiffany Kock in the women’s kayak doubles 500m heats at 12.10pm and Joshua Bruyns in the men’s speed climbing at 1pm.
Day 1⃣1⃣ Schedule for the Paris 2024 Olympics! 🇿![CDATA[]]>🇦#TeamSA #ForMyCountry #Olympics pic.twitter.com/Qb66ZpEx7U
— Team South Africa (@OfficialTeamRSA) August 6, 2024
Daily Voice