Akani Simbine gets another chance on Saturday to “revenge” the result of last year’s Olympic final in Rio when he lines up to race against Yohan Blake on Saturday at the JN-Racers Grand Prix-meeting at the National Stadium in Kingston.
Simbine who finished 5th in Rio got his first two scalps at the Doha Diamond League Meeting when he out-sprinted Justin Gatlin (USA) and Andre de Grasse (Canada) to win the 100m. The two of them respectively finished second and third in last year’s Olympic final.
Blake who is a former world champion finished fourth in Rio beating Simbine by 0.01s. If the Tuks-sprinter manages to beat Blake the only one left he has a score to settle with will be Usain Bolt who won the Olympic gold medal. When he does so, Simbine could lay claim to having beaten four of the best sprinters in the world.
Simbine and Werner Prinsloo (coach) are not known for speculating what might or might not happen they prefer the results to speak for itself.
However Prinsloo is never one to doubt in Simbine’s abilities as a sprinter, but, he is hesitant to make a bold prediction about a possible victory for the Tuks-athlete.
“It will certainly be big if Akani wins in Kingston. I have no doubt that on a good day he is capable of out-sprinting any of the world’s top sprinters but the timing of Saturday’s race is not quite perfect for us. I am prepared to say that Akani will run a sub ten second time and that he will finish in the top three.”
Saturday’s meeting is certainly historic as it is the last time that the “King of Sprint” will race in front of his home fans.
At a press conference Bolt’s coach, Glen Mills explained that Bolt had been the flag-bearer for the Racers Track Club for the past decade and that it was only fitting that he be honoured by the club before he takes his leave from competitive athletics.
“It will be my last competition on home soil,” said Bolt, whose first international success came in Kingston at the 2002 IAAF World Junior Championships. “I might shed a tear even though I'm not an emotional person as I close out where it all started on Jamaican soil.”
Simbine feels honoured to have been invited to race in this tribute to a legend meeting.
“Racing at this event knowing that it is Bolt’s last time competing in Jamaica is a great honour. He did so much for the sport so just being part of his final journey is exciting and a way to say to myself there is a gap that needs to be filled,” said the Tuks-athlete.
There can be no arguing that Simbine has improved by leaps and bounds from last year’s Olympic finals. He proved it in Doha becoming the first South African sprinter to win the 100 metres at a Diamond League Meeting. Further prove of Simbine’s prowess as a sprinter is the fact that he has already improved his tally of sub ten-second races to 13 this season. He is also one of only a handful of athletes who has managed to sprint to a sub ten-second time in the 100 metres and sub 20 seconds in the 200m on the same day.
**The past weekend Simbine finished second in the 100 metres at the Adidas Boost Boston Games in Boston. Keston Bledman (Trinidad and Tobago) won in 10.21s with the Tuks-athlete second in the same time. Simbine and Bledman were separated by by one-thousandth of a second at the finish line. Jevaughn Minzie (Jamaica) was third in 10.30s.
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