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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.
Eyewitness News
18-05-2025
- Sport
- Eyewitness News
Akani Simbine continues to dominate 100m with win at Atlanta City Games
JOHANNESBURG - SA sprint star Akani Simbine continued his 100m dominance, picking up another win at the Atlanta City Games. The South African clocked a wind-aided 9.86 seconds for the win. He started a bit slow, but hit his stride at the 50-metre mark, well ahead of Nigerian Udodi Onwuzurike, who was second with a run of 10.05 seconds. Simbine's 9.90 seconds from the Botswana Golden Grand Prix in April remains as the official world lead for 2025. READ MORE: Akani Simbine burns rubber at the Diamond League series in Xiamen Akani Simbine sprints to a world-leading time at Botswana Golden Grand Prix Simbine was expecting the reigning Olympic champion, Noah Lyles, to be lining up alongside him, but the American withdrew from the race due to a "tight ankle" that has impacted him in the last two weeks. The 31-year-old sprinter has won both 100m Diamond League events this season and a medal at the World Indoors and anchored Team SA to gold in the 4x100m World Relays. World record holder in the 400m and Rio 2016 Olympic champion, Wayde van Niekerk, kicked off his 2025 season with a third-place effort in the men's 200m in a time of 20.03 seconds.
NBC Sports
17-05-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Harrison wins 100m hurdle in stacked Atlanta field
Tokyo silver medalist and American hurdler Keni Harrison wins the women's 100m hurdles in a stacked field with a time of 12.30 at the Atlanta City Games.
TimesLIVE
17-05-2025
- Sport
- TimesLIVE
Akani Simbine wins over 100m again while Wayde van Niekerk ends third
Akani Simbine continued his unbeaten run over 100m in Atlanta on Saturday afternoon while Wayde van Niekerk settled for third place in the 200m in his season-opener. A strong tail wind nullified strong runs in both their races, with Simbine storming to victory in 9.86sec, well ahead of Udodi Onwuzurike of Nigeria in 10.05. The wind was measured at 2.3 metres per second. Simbine, fresh from winning gold in the 4x100m at World Relays in Guangzhou last weekend, also won the first three 100m races of his season, one in Botswana and two in the Diamond League meets in China. Van Niekerk, who hadn't competed since finishing seventh in the 200m at the Paris Olympics in August last year, started off his 2025 campaign with a seemingly respectable 20.03 over the straight 200m at the adidas Atlanta City Games. The wind was measured at 2.2mps, with Briton Zharnel Hughes taking full advantage as he won in 19.55. Jereem Richards of Trinidad and Tobago was second in 19.63. Van Niekerk, with a 19.84 personal best from eight years ago, slowed markedly over the final stages of the race. He had beaten Richards in their only previous encounter over this distance, in the final at the 2017 world championships in London. The 32-year-old Van Niekerk, the world 400m record-holder, is unlikely to find glory in the 200m and will surely have to return to the one-lap contest if he plans on challenging for global silverware down the line.
IOL News
16-05-2025
- Sport
- IOL News
Noah Lyles may be running scared of SA star Akani Simbine at Atlanta City Games as Wayde van Niekerk gets back on track
Akani Simbine SA star Akani Simbine (centre) will run in Atlanta on Saturday. Photo: AFP Image: AFP After a lengthy indoor season, a few Diamond League wins and World Relays gold medal, you would think Akani Simbine would take a breather back home. But instead of enjoying the celebrations with the Team South Africa relay squad at the OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg this week, Simbine travelled in another direction. The 31-year-old SA sprint star left China and headed to the United States to take part in Saturday's adidas Atlanta City Games. Simbine has been in red-hot form, earning a bronze medal at the 60m indoor world championships in China in March in his first ever campaign in that arena. Then he ran a 2025 100m world-lead of 9.90 seconds at the Botswana Grand Prix in Gaborone, before winning consecutive Diamond League races in China. He didn't slow down on his busy start to the year, anchoring SA to the 4x100m gold medal at the World Relays in Guangzhou, China last weekend with an astonishing finish to edge out USA's Brandon Hicklin, who boasts the second-fastest 100m time this year of 9.93. Clearly Simbine is the man to beat in Atlanta – so does that mean 100m Olympic champion Noah Lyles is running scared of the South African? Lyles, who pulled off an incredible triple-gold-medal haul at the 2023 world championships in Budapest in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay, will also be competing at Piedmont Park – but in the 150m event. 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 He is chasing Usain Bolt's world best time of 14.35, having run 14.41 in last year's corresponding meeting. But Lyles is seemingly holding his fire for now with regards to Simbine, with the September world championships in Tokyo the main goal for this season. Nevertheless, Simbine will hope to maintain his unbeaten 100m streak for this year, but will be up against a formidable field in Atlanta. Jamaican Oblique Seville is at the top of that list, as he boasts a personal best of 9.81 – which is slightly quicker than Simbine's SA record of 9.82. Seville finished eighth in the fastest-ever 100m Olympic final last year – running 9.91, with Simbine fourth in 9.82. Other notable competitors in Atlanta are Americans Erriyon Knighton (200m world championship silver medallist in 2023 and bronze in 2022) and Cravont Charleston (100m personal best of 9.90), as well as US-based Nigerian Udodi Onwuzurike (9.92 PB). The other South African taking part at the Atlanta City Games will be 400m world record holder Wayde van Niekerk. The 32-year-old was scheduled to participate at the national championships in Potchefstroom in late April, but withdrew following the birth of his second son. Now Van Niekerk will hope to finally get his 2025 season going, having returned to South Africa on a fulltime basis after leaving his US-based coach Lance Brauman's training squad. Van Niekerk will be running in the 200m event, which indicates that the half-lap event will be his main distance in 2025 again, having reached the semi-finals at last year's Paris Olympics. But he will have to produce some excellent times over the next few months to push for a place in the SA team, with the likes of Sinesipho Dambile (20.01), Bayanda Walaza (20.08), Naeem Jack (20.13) and Abduraghmaan Karriem (20.15) having already breached the 20.16 qualifying mark. Van Niekerk's fastest time in 2024 was his 20.29 effort in Madrid last June. Meanwhile, another member of the SA 4x100m relay team that won silver at the Paris Olympics, Shaun Maswanganyi, will be back on the track in Friday's Diamond League meeting in Doha, Qatar. Maswanganyi will be squaring off with 200m Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo in the half-lap event, and will hope to run the 20.16 world championship qualifying time.
