Akani Simbine Akani Simbine (in red) will hope to emerge victorious in China for a second successive week. Photo: AFP
Image: AFP
Akani Simbine has the fastest time in the world this year, but his first major test of the season will come in Saturday’s Diamond League meeting in Shanghai/Keqiao.
The men’s 100m race will be the showcase event at the China Textile City Sports Center arena, and for Simbine, it’s about building on last week’s victory in the first Diamond League meet in Xiamen.
Simbine clocked 9.99 seconds in quite chilly conditions, but will be happy that the weather in Shanghai/Keqiao will be much warmer, with temperatures of around 33 degrees Celsius expected on Saturday.
But while Simbine is unbeaten over the 100m distance this year, he will be pushed all the way this time around by Jamaican star Kishane Thompson.
The 23-year-old stunned the sprint world by clinching the silver medal at the Paris Olympics last year with a superb 9.79 seconds, but just missing out on the gold to American Noah Lyles by five one-thousandths of a second.
US star Fred Kerley grabbed the bronze medal in 9.81, with Simbine again just missing out on the podium with a new national record time of 9.82.
So, the 31-year-old will be determined to make amends at the September world championships in Tokyo, having claimed the 4x100m relay silver with Team SA in Paris, and then a 60m bronze at this year’s world indoor champs in China.
This will be Thompson’s first major 100m race in 2025, having battled to shake off shin and hamstring injuries.
But this event will kick-start his build-up to Tokyo as well, so he will also go all out to beat Simbine and show the world that he is back to his best.
Botswana’s 200m Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo will hope for a better outcome than in Xiamen in the 100m, where he ran 10.20 to finish seventh.
The same will apply to a number of big guns who trailed Simbine last week in Xiamen, including Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala (second in 10.13), Britain’s world indoor champion Jeremiah Azu (third in 10.17) and American Christian Coleman (fourth in 10.18).
South Africa will have another top athlete competing in Shanghai/Keqiao in the shape of women’s javelin star Jo-Ané du Plessis.
The Paris Olympic silver medallist was well short of her best in Xiamen last week, finishing in sixth position with a best effort of 60.38m.
Du Plessis’ personal best is 64.22m, and she will hope to get close to that mark on Saturday, as she will square off with Japan’s Olympic champion Haruka Kitaguchi, who has a best throw of 67.38m.
Two other South Africans in action in Shanghai/Keqiao will be Lythe Pillay, who will face 400m Olympic champion Quincy Hall, and women’s 100m hurdles star Marioné Fourie, who finished third in Xiamen last weekend with a season’s best 12.62.
The event will be broadcast live on SuperSport on channel 208 at 1pm on Saturday.
Meanwhile, teenage star Bayanda Walaza again clocked a world-championship qualifying time of 10 seconds flat to win the SA students title at Pilditch Stadium in Pretoria on Thursday.
Walaza has also been included in the 19-strong SA team for the World Athletics Relays championship that will take place in Guangzhou, China on May 10 and 11.
SA will take part in the men’s 4x100m, the men’s and women’s 4x400m and the mixed 4x400m events.
Walaza and Simbine will team up with Bradley Nkoana, Sinesipho Dambile, Retshidisitswe Mlenga and Tsebo Matsoso for the 4x100m race.
Pillay will form part of the 4x400m men’s group that will be spearheaded by SA champion Zakithi Nene, who ran a superb new PB of 44.22 at the nationals in Potchefstroom last week – the second-fastest time by a local athlete, behind Wayde van Niekerk’s world-record 43.03.
In addition, world junior 400m champion Udeme Okon, Gardeo Isaacs, Tumisang Shezi and Mthi Mthimkulu will complete the 4x400m men’s team.
SA champion Miranda Coetzee will lead the women’s 4x400m side, which will include Zeney Geldenhuys, Hannah van Niekerk, Shirley Nekhubui, Precious Molepo and Jada van Staden.
Isaacs, Coetzee and Nekhubui will be part of the mixed 4x400m event as well, and they will be joined by 17-year-old sensation Leendert Koekemoer, who broke the SA Under-20 400m record last week in a time of 45.03.
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