With his performance of 10,01 s on 11 June 2016 at the Racers Grand Prix in Kingston, Akani Simbine (Tuks/hpc) showed that it is only a matter of time before he again runs the 100 m in under ten seconds. 

Although Simbine finished sixth, Werner Prinsloo, his coach, was more than happy with the way the raced played out. 'I watched a video of the race. It was interesting to see that it was tightly contested. Akani has certainly regained the form he had before he was injured at the South African Championships in Stellenbosch. I think Monday's race will boost Akani's confidence. He should now realise that nothing can hold him back. It should be only a matter of time before he starts to run times faster than ten seconds,' said Prinsloo.

In his first international competition at the Diamond League Meeting in Rome two weeks ago, Simbine finished in 10,13 s. His best time for the season is 9,96 s, which is also a South African record.

The world record-holder, Usain Bolt (Jamaica), won in 9,88 s in Kingston with Nickel Ashmeade (Jamaica) finishing second in 9,94 s, Yohan Blake (Jamaica) third in 9,94 s and Asafa Powell (Jamaica) fourth in 9,98 s. Bolt's winning time is the second fastest for the season. Only Frenchman Jimmy Vicaut (9,86 s) ran faster.

Simbine's next race will be on Saturday when he will compete in the Adidas Boost Boston Games, a two-day festival featuring a fan-friendly track event as well as the first ever 'street meet' in Boston. Among the top international stars who will compete in Boston are Olympic medallists Jenn Suhr, Meseret Defar, Nick Willis, and Yohan Blake.

Prinsloo said he also wants Simbine to compete in some 200 m races before the Olympic Games in Rio. At the African Championships in Durban, he will compete in both the 100 m and the 200 m.

The South African 400 m world champion, Wayde van Niekerk, won the 300 m in Kingston in 31,03 s.  This puts him third on the all-time list for this distance. According to alltime-athletics.com, only Michael Johnson (USA), who ran it in 30,85 s in 2000, and Bolt, who ran it in 30,97 s in 2010, have run faster times over 300 m.