South Africa's Simbine reaping rewards of strong indoor season work
BENGALURU - Akani Simbine has emerged as the man to beat over 100 metres this year but the South African is not putting extra pressure on himself early in a campaign in which he will target world championship glory in Tokyo.
After a strong indoor season, Simbine set a world leading time of 9.90 seconds en route to gold at last month's Botswana Golden Grand Prix in Gaborone before dipping under 10 seconds again to triumph at both Diamond League meetings in China.
The 31-year-old, who also won his first individual global sprint medal with bronze in the 60m event at the world indoor championships in Nanjing said his solid preparation for the shorter distance had made all the difference over 100m.
"I just think it comes from having a really great indoor (season). Setting up myself for the indoors has put me in the position to run what I'm running now," Simbine told reporters ahead of this weekend's World Athletics Relays in Guangzhou.
"Usually, around this time I would clock a high 9.9, that's been the norm ... I'm running sub-10s because of the work we've done for 60m, but also because naturally my last 40m is really good on its own.
"Being the man to beat isn't something I think about. At the end of the day I'm running and winning my races, that's all that needs to be done. The rest of it, the noise around it is created by you guys (the media) and the fans."
Simbine opted to stay in China instead of flying home for a training camp with his teammates and will compete in the 4x100m relays this weekend as South Africa look to secure their place in September's world championships in Tokyo.
Simbine said he was hoping to compete at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028 after missing out on a podium spot at last year's Games.
He set a national record of 9.82 seconds but could only manage a fourth-placed finish in Paris.
"I've been taking it season by season. That's the big thing with me ... I don't think about age and how long I've have been in the game. I just take every year as it comes," Simbine said.
"That's one of the benefits. I have a really great team, my physio and trainer keep me healthy, while my coach is also good. So it's having a great system around me that has kept me in the game for so long.
"The 2028 Games is definitely the plan, but it might be my last Olympics. We'll see what the body says. If the body still allows after that, I'll definitely stick around." REUTERS
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