Simbine to put more focus on 200m

Akani Simbine is better known for his achievements as a 100m sprinter setting the South African record three times since he broke through the 10-second barrier last year. Photo: WU HONG

Akani Simbine is better known for his achievements as a 100m sprinter setting the South African record three times since he broke through the 10-second barrier last year. Photo: WU HONG

Published Sep 15, 2016

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Bosom buddies off the track but Akani Simbine and Wayde van Niekerk will soon be taking each other on for sprint supremacy over the 100m and 200m dash.

Both athletes returned from last month’s Rio Olympic Games rewriting the history books with Van Niekerk smashing the 400m world-record for his gold medal while Simbine finished fifth in the 100m final.

“I don’t think I’ve raced enough to establish myself as a 200-metre runner but the plan for next year is to run more 200s because I am hungry to run more 200s,” Simbine said at a Panasonic sponsorship function.

“I started to enjoying the 200 metres since I got to run it at the World Championships and I thought it is not that far and I can actually get close to running sub-20 seconds.”

Simbine is better known for his achievements as a 100m sprinter setting the South African record three times since he broke through the 10-second barrier last year.

Since breaking through the barrier for the first time in Velenje in July 2015, Simbine has dipped below 10 seconds seven times.

Shortly before the Rio Olympics he clocked a new South African record of 9.89 seconds in Hungary setting him up for his maiden Games.

At the Games he became the first South African male sprinter since Danie Joubert in Los Angeles 1932 to make it into final of the 100m dash.

Just missing out on the bronze medal he finished in fifth place, three hundredths of a second behind third-place winner Andre de Grasse of Canada, who clocked 9.91 seconds.

Jamaican world-record holder Usain Bolt crossed the line first for his third consecutive Olympic 100m title in a time of 9.81s with America's Justin Gatlin bagging the silver in 9.89s.

Although he has been among the country’s fastest two-lap sprinters over the last year or so, Simbine said he would now add the 200m to his repertoire in earnest.

“When I ran this year and I ran 20.16 seconds I was like ‘okay, I wasn't pushing in the beginning phase and I was holding back a bit’ so I know I have 19 seconds in my legs,” Simbine said.

“So next year will just be about training for the 100m and the 200m and make sure I am ready for them both.

“None of my training is bend running, I haven't actually run over 200 metres this whole season so it is going to be a change going into next year.”

With Van Niekerk announcing he would turn his focus to 100m and 200m it sets up a mouth-watering prospect of seeing the Olympic champion go up against national record-holder Anaso Jobodwana and Simbine.

While these three could give any international field an uphill battle Rio Olympics juniors Gift Leotlela and Clarence Munyai have also made their first steps onto the big stage.

“Wayde is a great athlete and he will bring his A-game to the track, we know we are going to race each other next year in the 100m and 200m and I’ve said to him ‘dude, come through’,” Simbine said.

“I would like to be able to race against someone that can push me in South Africa. There is Henricho Bruintjies, there’s him, and then there is also Anaso.

“So it is really great that there are so many people that you can see yourself running against and push yourself.”

Independent Media

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