Ashfak Mohamed

IT was always going to be tough to get up for one last race at the end of the biggest season of his career, but now Akani Simbine just wants to get home and “chill with the family”.

The South African 100m record holder remained in Europe to compete in the Diamond League final in Brussels on Friday night after a momentous Paris Olympics, where he secured a silver medal with the 4x100m relay team and ended fourth in the 100m final.

It was little surprise that Simbine was well off his best in Brussels. He made a good enough start against the likes of American stars, Olympic bronze medallist Fred Kerley and Christian Coleman, over the first 40 metres.

But then Jamaican speedster Ackeem Blake motored to the front, and despite strong finishes by Kerley and Coleman, Blake triumphed in 9.93 seconds.

Coleman was second in 10 seconds flat, followed by Kerley (10.01) and Cameroon’s Emmanuel Eseme (10.09), with Simbine fifth in 10.10.

But now the South African sprinter cannot wait to get back to Mzansi.

“That’s the thing that is going to go about my mind, just saying that I am actually done with the season. I’ve been over here since May, and I’m missing my family and looking forward to seeing my family,” Simbine told Athletics Weekly in a YouTube video interview afterwards.

“It’s a bit busy when I get back... a whole lot of appearances and stuff, and I just want to chill a bit with my family and stuff.

“But there will be lots of appearances, and I know the Minister (of Sport Gayton McKenzie) is planning something, but I’m not sure what. But we’ll see when we get home.”

Simbine will be in party mood as he will celebrate his 31st birthday next Saturday, and he will reflect on the crowning moment in his career after clinching an elusive Olympic medal in the relay.

He ended fifth in the 100m at Rio in 2016 and fourth in Tokyo in 2021, and after another fourth-place finish in Paris in August, in a new SA record of 9.82sec, he may have thought that a podium finish would elude him forever.

But satisfied that he did his absolute best in the 100m final, he flew through the final leg of the 4x100 relay final to claim the silver medal for South Africa, alongside Shaun Maswanganyi, Bradley Nkoana and Bayanda Walaza.

“Super happy, super proud! It’s something that we’ve been wanting to do, and I’m just happy I made it home. It was kind of like a chip off my shoulder.

“I just come out and did what I needed to do, and I want to represent myself well as an athlete. Since 2016, I would’ve gotten a medal (with 9.82sec). It just shows where we’re at, and where we’re going. I’ve been in the game for a very long time, and I’ve kept on improving and getting better every year.

“I’m just happy with the growth. It’s just been marginal every year – the growth, taking the loss, the disappointment, and coming back and changing something here, improving something here, just making sure I show up every time.”

The only other South African competing in the Diamond League final was 22-year-old women’s 800m Olympic finalist Prudence Sekgodiso, who also displayed the effects of a long season as she ended well off the pace in eighth place in 2min 03.16sec, with Olympic bronze medallist Mary Moraa of Kenya winning in a season’s best 1:56.56.