Akani Simbine

Akani Simbine began demonstrating his love for sprinting at a very young age. Simbine was gifted with an unusual blend of speed, strength, and flexibility. His powerful kickoffs and strikingly long strides set him apart and drew attention from many. A pivotal point in Simbine’s career came in 2014 when he stood on top of the podium winning the gold in the 100 meters at the World Junior Championships.

On July 9, 2015, Akani Simbine made history for South African by matching the national 100m record and setting an event record, at the 2015 Universiade in Gwangju, South Korea. Just over a year later, on July 18, 2016, he shattered the South African 100m record again at the Gyulai István Memorial in Székesfehérvár. Simbine’s record time was an impressive 9.89 seconds. Later in 2016, at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, he placed fifth in the 100m final with an impressive run of 9.94 seconds.

In 2017, Simbine began his season as he won the 100m event at the IAAF Diamond League in Doha with a time of 9.99 seconds. The following year, he won the Commonwealth Games 100m final in 10.03 seconds and surpassed pre-race favorite Yohan Blake. Simbine kicked off the 2020 season by equaling the South African 150-meter record at the University of Johannesburg Stadium. However, there was no wind data available for this race.

The March of 2020 saw Simbine running his first 100m race of the season at the University of Pretoria Tuks Stadium. There, he achieved a world-leading time of 9.91 seconds. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, his training was halted until July, weeks after other sports had resumed. Upon resuming training, he won a series of 100m competitions across Europe and ended his season with a victory at the Rome Diamond League in September.

Simbine started off the 2021 season by winning the 100m at the Athletix Invitational in Johannesburg. However, the wind speed was slightly above the permissible limit, so it didn’t qualify as a leading time. He claimed the Gauteng North Championships at the University of Pretoria with a time of 9.99 seconds, under challenging wind conditions. The South African Championships in April saw Simbine clock his fastest-ever time of 9.82 seconds, though the wind speed was again over the limit for record purposes. 

Despite this, he collected victory in the final and anchored South Africa to gold in the men’s 4 × 100 meters relay at the 2021 World Relays in May. On July 6, Simbine attained a new national and African record of 9.84 seconds at the Hungarian Athletics Grand Prix. In the Summer Olympics  2020 held in Tokyo, Japan, in August 2021, he finished fourth in a time of 9.93 seconds.

Akani Simbine, a native of South Africa, was born in Kempton Park, Gauteng on the 21st of September, 1993. He pursued a Bachelor’s in Information Science at the University of Pretoria and graduated in 2017. Elsie Simbine, his mother, played a vital role in his athletic journey. While she was a strong supporter of his sporting career, she stressed the importance of education. It was she who wanted him to complete his degree.