Latest news with #TeamSouthAfrica
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.
Daily Maverick
15-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Maverick
South Africa's world-conquering relay stars hope to build on exploits before World Championships
The South African athletes who formed part of the medal-winning teams at the World Athletics Relays in China say the country's sprinting is in an extremely healthy space. Following a successful and medal-winning expedition at the World Athletics Relays in Guangzhou, Team South Africa's relay stars landed to much fanfare at Johannesburg's OR Tambo Airport on Wednesday, 14 May 2025. The prevailing sentiment? Optimism. Athletics South Africa (ASA) sent a team boasting youthful exuberance, which was balanced by experience, to China. On one end of the spectrum was veteran Akani Simbine (31), while on the other was the youngest member of the team — Leendert Koekemoer (18). 'They can do this' Running alongside global starlet Bayanda Walaza, as well as Sinesipho Dambile and Bradley Nkoana — Simbine anchored South Africa's charge to a memorable men's 4x100m relay gold medal in Guangzhou. To underline his longevity, Simbine recently made history when he became the first athlete in history to run under 10 seconds for 11 successive seasons in the men's 100m category. The record was previously held by sprint deity Usain Bolt, before Simbine overtook it in April. Simbine — who was not part of the party that landed in Johannesburg on 14 May — expressed his pride and excitement in terms of what the future holds for South African sprinting. Especially because other exciting runners, such as Shaun Maswanganyi and Benjamin Richardson, were not part of the winning effort in China. 'They're showing that they can do this and that they can handle pressure up here at the elite level. So, I'm looking forward to seeing the growth. I'm looking forward to seeing them take over the world and show that South Africa is a sprinting nation as well,' Simbine told FloTrack in Guangzhou. Exciting future Koekemoer, on the other hand, is just starting his senior career. The Helpmekaar College matriculant played a pivotal part as his spirited run in the penultimate leg of the relay helped South Africa strike gold ahead of Belgium and Botswana respectively in the 4x400m final. Gardeo Isaacs and Udeme Okon had laid a great foundation, before Koekemoer took the baton and handed it to team captain Zakithi Nene for the final leg and overall victory in a national record time of 2:57.50. 'The experience was very good; it was my first time out of the country. All the senior guys helped me and made jokes with me. They invited me in and didn't look at me like I'm a little kid… It was a great experience,' Koekemoer said of his time in China. Perfect blend Although she did not run in the 4x400m women's final, team member Jada van Staden expressed her delight with how her teammates had clinched bronze — crossing over in a national record time of 3:24.84 behind Spain and the US. Van Staden said the 4x400m team — comprising captain Zeney Geldenhuys, plus Olympian Miranda Coetzee, Shirley Nekhubui and Precious Molepo — had done exceptionally to not be overawed by the occasion. 'The fact that we had our own big names in the team motivated us. My teammates are big names themselves, they've achieved so much. That's also what was so lovely about our team, the mix between three of us being youngsters, while the other three others were the elders of the team,' Van Staden said. Indeed, for all its issues, ASA seems to have perfected the recipe for blending youth and experience. Whereas in previous years there seemed to be a disjuncture between the upcoming athletes and their seniors, there appears to be a palpable synergy between this group of sprinters. This can only benefit the country positively before the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games. But first up are the World Championships in Japan, which take place from 13 to 21 September. Junior world champion Walaza says that South Africa is perfectly positioned to once again bag some medals at the event. 'These relay medals show the whole world that South Africa is strong and they must not take us lightly. I believe that after these gold medals, it's brought the spirit of wanting to bring even more medals individually. We can see that as a country we are as strong as other countries,' Walaza said. DM
IOL News
09-05-2025
- Sport
- IOL News
Akani Simbine leading next SA generation at World Relays
Akani Simbine From left, Shaun Maswanganyi is not in China, but Akani Simbine, Bradley Nkoana and Bayanda Walaza will lead the SA 4x100m team at the World Relays this weekend. Photo: AFP Image: AFP Claiming a silver medal at last year's Paris Olympics heralded a new era in South African sprinting, and they hope to go for gold at this year's world championships. But having achieved amazing success in the French capital, the road to the global event in Tokyo in September for Team South Africa will start this weekend at the World Relays in Guangzhou, China. Top of the medal chase for SA will be the men's 4x100m group, which will be led by Akani Simbine, and he will be supported by fellow Paris medallists Bayanda Walaza and Bradley Nkoana, as well as Sinesipho Dambile, Retshidisitswe Mlenga and Tsebo Matsoso. The men's 4x400m team includes current SA champion Zakithi Nene – who clocked a new personal best of 44.22 recently – as well as world junior 400m champion Udeme Okon, former world junior winner Lythe Pillay, Gardeo Isaacs, Tumisang Shezi and Mthi Mthimkulu. The women's 4x400m squad will be made up of Miranda Coetzee, Zeney Geldenhuys, Hannah van Niekerk, Shirley Nekhubui, Precious Molepo and Jada van Staden. Isaacs, Coetzee and Nekhubui will compete in the mixed 4x400m event, along with junior star Leendert Koekemoer. Simbine secured his first ever global individual medal in the 60m at the world indoor championships in China in March, and hopes to continue with his impressive season at the World Relays. 'Getting the individual medal was an important thing. It was important for my career and my confidence,' Simbine said during a press conference in China on Friday. 'But at the same time, I look at my career as just a statement of what athletics is: never giving up on your dreams, and always pushing to the finish line. 'For me, it's always been about showing up, starting the season, and always trying to be the best I can in that season. 'Yes, I've been always coming fourth and falling short, but that has never taken away from the experience of what I want to do in the sport – that is improving myself and becoming a better athlete. 'Becoming the best sprinter I can become. In that, comes the medals, and to be able to run consistently at a high level over 11 years. That was the important thing in my career.' 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 But the 31-year-old SA record-holder, who finished fourth in the 100m Paris Olympic final with a new national mark of 9.82, is keen to help develop the next generation. Walaza is the 100m and 200m world junior champion, and the 19-year-old will hope to pick up some tips from Simbine as he takes in the experience of running in China. 'It was very important for us, as we actually believed that we could win – that we could come out with a medal,' Simbine said. 'That was something that was over years that we were building. We always believed we had a team that could get a medal, but it was just that we couldn't put it together.
The Citizen
27-04-2025
- Sport
- The Citizen
Durban North resident crowned SA blackball champ
DURBAN North resident Erin Lazarus won her first-ever women's singles title at the South African Blackball National Championship held at Suncoast Casino last month. Lazarus, a second year student at UKZN, has been playing the game since a young age but started taking the cue sport seriously from the age of 15. The 21-year-old reflected on winning her first national title in front of a home crowd. 'My goal going into the championships was to win the singles division because it's the most sought after in the sport. It has always been a goal of mine to lift the trophy. I feel I played with less pressure in my home town compared to last year's event which was also held at Suncoast. In that competition I crashed out in the second round. For this competition I was a bit rusty as I had surgery and was recovering for the nationals. Also read: uMdloti resident paddles to SA titles 'Winning on home soil makes it extra sweet because my friends and family were there as well as players from the province. I felt I started off a bit shaky but my semi-final and final matches were my best two matches of the entire competition. Everything just came together at the right time. The feeling of being SA champ is still sinking in,' she said. Lazarus has competed in five national champs altogether and her previous best finish was the semi-finals in 2023. She was also full of praise for her opponent in the final, the experienced Joy Willenberg. 'Joy is one of the players I've looked up to since I started playing. I've learnt so much through her and she is one of my best friends. We speak every day and I see her as one of my mentors.' This triumph followed her silver medal with Team South Africa at the Blackball International World Championships in the UK in October last year. Also read: Durban North angler hooks Youth Protea spot for world championships Her attention now shifts to the upcoming Commonwealth Blackball Games in Mauritius. 'I'm looking forward to that competition which is still in the planning phases. I feel it will be a good tester for me and exciting prospect of potentially winning a trophy I've never won,' she said. For more from Northglen News, follow us on Facebook , X or Instagram. You can also check out our videos on our YouTube channel or follow us on TikTok. Click to subscribe to our newsletter – here At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
