By Dylan Bettencourt
- Simbine clocked 9.95 seconds to win the Rabat Diamond League 100m, beating Olympic champion Fred Kerley and Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala.
- He’s now won six races in a row, including a world-leading time of 9.90 seconds and gold at the World Relays.
South African sprint star Akani Simbine showed once again why he’s the man to beat after storming to victory in the Rabat Diamond League 100m on Sunday night.
He clocked 9.95 seconds, just one-hundredth of a second off the meet record, and stayed unbeaten this season. That’s now six races without a loss. Only once has he run slower than 10 seconds.
Simbine flew past Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala and American Fred Kerley after the 60m mark, showing his trademark late burst of speed.
Omanyala came second in 10.05 seconds, with Kerley third in 10.07. South Africa’s Shaun Maswanganyi finished sixth with a season’s best of 10.19 seconds.
Simbine is now one of the fastest men in the world this year, just behind his own 9.90 world lead, American Brandon Hicklin’s 9.93, and Bayanda Walaza’s South African under-20 record of 9.94.
There were more standout performances from Team South Africa.
Zakithi Nene finished second in the 400m behind American Jacory Patterson. Nene led heading into the final bend but was edged out at the line. Patterson won in 44.37 seconds, with Nene just behind in 44.46.
In the women’s 800m, Prudence Sekgodiso ran a lightning-fast 1:57.52 – her best time this season and just 0.26 seconds off her personal best. She came second behind Ethiopia’s Tsige Duguma, who clocked 1:57.42.
Wayde van Niekerk ran his season’s best 200m and came fifth in 20.26 seconds. His earlier time of 20.03 was wind-aided and doesn’t count.
Benjamin Richardson was seventh in 20.49, while Jo-Ane du Plessis (formerly van Dyk) came fifth in the javelin with a throw of 59.25m.
Zeney van der Walt finished fifth in the women’s 400m hurdles in 55.37 seconds. Rogail Joseph, still recovering from injury, came last but set her season’s best of 57.91.
Tshepo Tshite struggled in the 1,500m and finished 15th in 3:36.22.
Simbine will now head home to finish his training before the World Championships in Tokyo. With a flawless record, the season’s fastest time and a World Relays gold in his pocket, he’ll be going in with all guns blazing.
Pictured above: Akani Simbine storms to another win.
Image source: @WorldAthletics
