by Larry Eder
Deji Ogeyingbo pays tribute to the finest male sprinter from the African continent, Akani Simbine!
Akani Simbine’s third Olympic experience was magic- it was not just how he had it all played out.
Akani Simbine stood aloft on the podium, waiting to receive his Silver medal inside the Stade De France. With so many emotions rushing through his body, he could only wear a smile. Perhaps he was thinking about all the heartaches he had suffered at global competitions for the last eight years. He was the near man, but at that point, it had all come together for him.
Simbine, alongside Shaun Maswanganyi and the young talents Bradley Nkoana and Bayanda Walaza, secured a silver medal with an African record time of 37.57 seconds in the men’s 4x100m relay final. It was the event’s penultimate day, and all hope seemed lost. The South African 100m National Record holder must have focused on Los Angeles as his last try four years from now, but the universe wanted to reward him for his patience.
About a week before this silver lining moment for Simbine, the South African had once again come unstuck in the men’s 100m, placing fourth in a new Personal Best of 9.82. He missed a podium finish for the third time in a row, after fifth and fourth places in Rio and Tokyo. This fourth place in Paris felt like a sting in the tail. Almost like it was never meant to be. For every time he was getting better, there was always another person who could run nearly a hundredth of a second faster than him.
If Simbine’s experience this summer had been contained to geography and competitive triumph, that would have been more than enough. Playing an essential role in his country, he secured a relay medal while fulfilling his lifelong dream of standing on the podium at an Olympics on the third attempt of trying. Living the dream.
From a lanky 22-year-old from the suburbs of South Africa to the now acclaimed best sprinter in Africa, Simbine didn’t think it would take him so long to wear a global medal on his neck. But life has a way of throwing us curveballs, but if you stay through to the game, as Simbine has done, you never know how and when it will reward you.
“I’m thrilled that we came out here, ran our hearts out, and earned an Olympic silver medal, topped off with an African record,” said Simbine, who had narrowly missed out on a medal in the 100m semifinal last week and had often come up short in significant championships throughout his career. “For me, it’s finally a major championship medal, and I’m hungrier than ever. I’m excited, proud of the guys, and proud of our country.”
If one thing has been constant in Simbine’s pro career, it has been his eagerness to not give up. Immediately after his fourth-place finish in the 100m, he was the first to ooze positivity about his race. Talking much about how he’s still got the LA games to come in 2028, and he wants to reclaim the Commonwealth Games title he lost in 2022 to Ferdinand Omayanla.
As confident as he is in his abilities, Simbine is uniquely humble when approaching the sport. He knows what he doesn’t know, and he knows who he has to listen to in the search for understanding. In Paris, he was surrounded by some of the smartest, youngest, and most driven sprinters. They are certainly the next generation that the African Nations will produce. For now, Simbine can relish in his newfound status. It might not have been how he envisaged the medal to turn out, but it happened. That’s all that matters.
