Despite beating Tokyo 2020 Olympic gold medallist – Marcell Jacobs of Italy to win the men’s 100m Diamond League race in Oslo, Norway on Thursday, South African sprinter – Akani Simbine holds the view that he still has to add a thing or two to his skill set to make him wholesome ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
The 2018 Commonwealth Games gold medallist over the 100m dash [Simbine] has hit a top gear in the last months having won two 100m race in the 2024 Wanda Diamond League.
First, the South African upstaged former world champions – Fred Kerley, and Christian Coleman [both of USA] at the Shanghai/Suzhou Diamond League meet on Saturday, April 27, before last Thursday’s feat in Norway.
Simbine did not have a good start from the blocks in Oslo, but came back strongly after 40m to finish in 9.94 seconds, ahead of Abdul Hakim Sani Brown [9.99], and Cameroon’s Emmanuel Eseme [10.01] third while Marcell Jacobs of Italy settled for the third spot in 10.01 seconds.
Speaking in a post race interview, Simbine revealed his delight for finishing first despite the harsh weather condition:
“It ended up in the rain which probably influenced the race but at the end of the day we all have to run 100m rain or not and get to the line first.”
The Kempton Park [Gauteng] born sprinter, however added that he has a lot more to do going forward:
“I did that today which I am happy with but I have a lot to work on and a lot to do.
“I am happy with my performance and I hope there will be more highlights coming up as we build towards the Olympic Games.
“I put my marker out to the world today that I am here. The goal was the win today and I did that. Getting the win always helps with confidence as we get closer to Paris.”
Born on September 21, 1993, Akani Simbine held the fastest African time over 100 metres with a time of 9.84 seconds set in July 2021 until broken by Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala in September 2021.
By James Kwesi Attaglo Wilson
