Olympics | Medal again eludes brilliant Simbine

Blink. No, blink faster. Never mind. That’s how close Akani Simbine came to winning a medal in the men’s 100m at the Paris Olympics on Sunday night.

The 30-year-old ran the race of his life under the lights at a throbbing Stade de France, hitting the line in 9.82sec. That was the quickest he has ever gone and it set a South African record, It was his third straight Olympic final and he’s been the most consistent sprinter in the world since the Rio Games in 2016. There, he finished fifth in 9.94. In Tokyo three years ago he finished fourth in 9.82. And in Paris, he again finished fourth, despite the 9.82 time.

Fourth at an Olympics is the worst position in sport. To finish fourth in the men’s 100m at successive Olympics is simply cruel of the athletics gods.

He had gone progressively fast in each race, clocking 9.87 in winning his semi-final before going even faster. He got a flying start from lane five, with only Fred Kerley and defending Games champion Marcell Jacobs exploding out the blocks quicker.

All athletes were virtually in a straight line as they hit the 60m and surged for the line. The American Noah Lyles and Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson, in lanes four and seven, looked like they might have just snatched it, while Kerley and Simbine were locked as well.

It took what felt like an eternity to separate them. Then, up came the confirmation. Lyles had taken gold in 9.79, the first time he’d gone under 9.80. Thomson won silver also in 9.79 but was 0.005 of a second behind. Kerley had taken the bronze in 9.81 and Simbine was a hundredth of a second behind him. Eighth place went to Jamaican Oblique Seville in 9.91. Extraordinary.

Team SA’s other athletes on the night experienced mixed fortunes. 

While Lythe Pillay and Zakhiti Nene were unable to gain automatic qualification to the semi-finals, they progressed to the repechages of the men’s 400m, but will now have to squeeze another race out of their legs.

Prudence Sekgodiso was uber-impressive in finishing second in her semi-final in 1:57.57 and goes into the women’s 800m final with a puncher’s chance of winning a medal.

By GARY LEMKE in Paris

Photo: ROGER SEDRES/Team SA

Source: Team SA

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