Latest news with #AthleticsWorldRelays
IOL News
18-05-2025
- Sport
- IOL News
Akani Simbine continues winning streak with another sub-10 100m at Atlanta City Games
Akani Simbine was once again victorious in the 100m at the Atlanta City Games at the weekend. Image: AFP It was another win, and another sub-10-second time in the 100m for South Africa's sprint star Akani Simbine at the Atlanta City Games at the weekend. The 31-year-old track star is enjoying a golden revival late in his career, and remains unbeaten over the short dash this season, boasting this year's world-leading time of 9.90 seconds. He has also won both of his Diamond League meetings so far. Fresh off anchoring the SA 4X100m team to victory in another world-leading time at the Athletics World Relays in Guangzhou, China, the jet-heeled star again showed he is the man to beat. He blew the rest of the field away in the US as he clocked a wind-assisted 9.86 to take the win in Atlanta on Saturday. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad Loading "It's no pressure," Simbine told NBC after his victory. "I get to come enjoy something that is no stress; just run and have fun. I wasn't expecting that (time) at all. Crazy." The race had been billed as a potential mouthwatering showdown with Olympic champion Noah Lyles. However, the American scratched from the race due to a "tight ankle" that has apparently affected him in the past two weeks. "Unfortunately, I just have a really tight ankle. It kind of surprised us a couple of weeks ago," Lyles told NBC. "We came up (to Atlanta) thinking that anything could happen, it could loosen up. (But) it wasn't getting better and I need to play it safe ... It's just a little inflammation." The decision only fanned speculation that Lyles is avoiding the red-hot Simbine, with earlier reports suggesting he was only set to run the 150m at the unique event in Piedmont Park. Simbine seemed unfazed, powering to the line well ahead of Nigerian Udodi Onwuzurike (10.05) in typical fashion after a slow start. He was asked after the race if not having someone to chase had made a difference. "There's always someone to chase," Simbine responded, chucking. "It's a line, you know. We all start at the same place so there's always somebody that's going to get a centimeter or two centimeters ahead. But I know with my heat and in the final I was with that pack, and for me it's good, the green, go! "But I just need to watch the race again and see where I can improve on, where I can get better and what I can do to be better as the year goes on and the season goes on." He will return home to rest for next weekend's Rabat Diamond League meeting, where he can make it a perfect three from three. Simbine's coach Werner Prinsloo has stressed the importance of managing his load in an unusually long season to avoid burnout ahead of the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo in September. Meanwhile, fellow South African sprint legend Wayde van Niekerk finished third in the men's 200m on the specially constructed straight track in a fine start to his season. The 2016 Olympic champion and world record holder in the 400m clocked 20.03 seconds in the race that Zharnel Hughes won in a rapid 19.55.
IOL News
17-05-2025
- Sport
- IOL News
The rise of Leendert Koekemoer: A new star is born in South African athletics
Leendert Koekemoer The 4x400m relay team in China, from left, Lythe Pillay, Gardeo Isaacs, Udeme Okon, Leendert Koekemoer, Mthi Mthimkulu and Zakithi Nene were given a warm welcome home in Johannesburg. Photo: CECILIA VAN BERS Image: CECILIA VAN BERS Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them, according to William Shakespeare. South Africa's latest one-lap sensation, Leendert Koekemoer, falls into the latter category. And those marvelling at his achievements in helping South Africa to gold in the 4x400m at the Athletics World Relays in Guangzhou, China last weekend can scarcely believe that he is still only 17. But while their endorsement will mean a lot, there is one person who had a front-row seat to the young sprinter's historic achievement, and has been added to a growing list of admirers. The plaudits were already assured for established 400m star Zakithe Nene, when he collected the baton from the teenager on the anchor leg and stormed to gold in a world lead 2:57.50, trimming 0.62 seconds off the national record. However, the Olympic semi-finalist and Diamond League race winner has admitted that the hard graft was left to the two youngest members of the squad, matric pupils Udeme Okon and Koekemoer. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Gold medallists Gardeo Isaacs, Zakithi Nene, Leendert Koekemoer and Udeme Okon celebrate with teammates after finishing third in the men's 4x400m relay final at the World Athletics Relays 2025 in Guangdong Olympic Stadium, Guangzhou, China. Image: Wang Zhao / AFP 'I did run the anchor leg, but I feel like my teammates made the job so much easier for me,' Nene said on the triumphant team's return to South Africa this week. 'We had a nice blend of youth and experience. We gave probably the two toughest legs to the youngest athletes, Leendert Koekemoer and Udeme (Okon).' Koekemoer would have been forgiven for just going through the motions. After all, he was a late injury replacement for his training partner, Olympian Lythe Pillay. He had featured in the 4x400m mixed relay team at the World Relays. However, he showed that he is made of sterner stuff in overhauling Kabo Rankgwe of Botswana on the third leg, before giving Nene the 'easy' task of taking the team home. The SA Under-20 record holder over the distance registered an incredibly impressive split time of 44.23, especially for someone who had struggled to break through the 46-second barrier until this year. A torn hamstring also restricted the Helpmekaar Kollege, Johannesburg pupil to one race last year. World Under-20 champion Okon's split time was an equally impressive 44.24 to leave SA second at the final change-over. 'What was going through my mind was to catch that Botswana guy in front of me… I knew he blasted out superfast, so I knew that I could catch him if I just stayed patient and kicked at the right time,' the youngest member of the SA team Koekemoer said, recalling last Sunday's final. 'At the end of the day, I don't think I went out to the relay to run a fast time, necessarily. 'I think I just wanted to get the baton first to Zak (Nene). I think it was just for the team, so we could get a medal. The time came by itself.' The 17-year-old, who was taking part in his first overseas competition, struggled to explain the reason for the breakthrough performance. 'I feel like if it wasn't for my parents, my coach and my teammate Lythe Pillay pushing me at training, I wouldn't have been performing how I am performing today,' Koekemoer said. 'If it also wasn't for me pushing myself to be better every day, I feel that I wouldn't have run that time.' He also acknowledges the mental aspect of the one-lap sprint. 'The crucial thing for me this season is to keep my head in the game. I feel like the 400 is a very mental race, and you must know the lactic is going to come at the end. 'So, I think if your mind is right, you can run fast.' With the likes of Koekemoer and Okon already being world relay champions this early in their careers, and Nene, Pillay and the other established stars there to guide them, South Africa will be hard to catch for years to come. Greatness beckons!
IOL News
12-05-2025
- Sport
- IOL News
Akani Simbine has magic bullet but planning for World Athletics Championships will be key, says coach
Gold medallists Bayanda Walaza, from right, Sinesipho Dambile, Akani Simbine and Bradley Nkoana won the men's 4x100m relay during the World Athletics Relays in Guangzhou, China. Photo: AFP Image: afp South African sprint sensation Akani Simbine has set himself up as the early man to beat at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo later this year, after powering TeamSA to gold at the Athletics World Relays in Guangzhou, China, in the 4X100m relay at the weekend. The 31-year-old sprinter is enjoying a purple patch at a time when most sprinters are ready to hang up their spikes. The jet-heeled runner has rapidly shed his tag as the 'nearly man' of global athletics. In an exclusive interview with Independent media on Monday, Simbine's coach, Werner Prinsloo, was asked what the sprinter is doing differently this season. 'I think it's a combination of things; an accumulation of things over the past few years. Mentally he is in a good space, he has this calm in his life and he understands why he's running,' Prinsloo said. 'In terms of the training, in 2024 we had a very good year, running three 9.8s. It has been just basically a continuation from then on. 'We did identify a couple of things that we needed to work on. That's why we did the indoor season – the 60s – to try and work on those specific things. And it's paid dividends thus far.' Simbine's time of 9.90s at the Botswana Golden GP in April is still the world lead for 2025. In fact, Simbine has consistently dipped under 10 seconds in the 100m, cementing his status as the 'Sub-10 King'. The speedster claimed back-to-back 100m victories in the 2025 Diamond League season, beating Olympic silver medallist Kishane Thompson in Keqiao on May 3. He also claimed the top step of the podium at the previous Diamond League meeting in Xiamen, also in China. That ability to turn on the afterburners late in the race was again evident at the World Athletics Relays at the weekend. This time he reeled in Brandon Hicklin of the US as he anchored the 4x100m team, which included Bayanda Walaza, Sinesipho Dambile and Bradley Nkoana. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ 'It was always his strong point,' Prinsloo said. 'It was always there and I think it just took the right kind of training and just time for it to come out. I think early last year, when we went into the first Diamond Leagues, we had this discussion about you know you've got a good top-end speed. "He's proven it over the years, but we need to now exploit that. And it's just the way of running through the different phases of the 100m just to help him bring it out. And that has been the magic bullet for us since last year.' TeamSA, meanwhile, stopped the clock in the one-lap final at 37.61 seconds on Sunday, another world lead for 2025, Simbine's final 100m the highlight. Despite his blistering start to the year, the SA record-holder has been keen to downplay talk that he is the favourite for the world champs in Tokyo in September. And his coach has also issued a note of caution. 'Right now we are in a good space and we knew after the indoor season he was going to find some good times,' Prinsloo said. "The first one was the Botswana one, we weren't quite sure where he was and running that 9.90 in Botswana sort of gave us a good indication that we are heading in the right direction Akani Simbine was victorious in back-to-back Diamond League meetings so far this season. Image: AFP 'Having said that, this is a particularly long season, with the world champs only being in September, which is sort of out of the ordinary. But we have to pace ourselves now through the season, because it is very early still. "We haven't even seen some of the top American guys do things, so we have to be very cautious not to read too much into this ... From now, it's just a matter of planning properly and managing the whole process,' Prinsloo concluded.
