SA’s fastest man, Akani Simbine, ready to go at his own meeting
· Citizen
Though he says he is ready to fire on the track, Akani Simbine admits he has had to do some juggling between his commitments as an athlete and his responsibilities as the meeting director ahead of the inaugural Simbine Classic in Pretoria on Tuesday (3.45pm start).
Visit freshyourfeel.com for more information.
In a unique situation, Simbine will compete in the men’s 100m race at his own meeting, as the founder of the first World Athletics Continental Tour Silver event to be held in South Africa.
“I’m still working out how I’m going to be able to get to the track,” Simbine, who was gearing up for his first race of the season, joked on Monday.
“But this is a race day for me. As much as I am the meeting director, I’ve got a great team that’s working behind the scenes and they will make sure everything runs the way it needs to run.”
Powerful line-ups
The SA record holder will need to hit his straps in a 100m field which also includes seven-time Olympic medallist Andre de Grasse of Canada, who showed impressive early-season form by clocking 9.95 (100m) and 19.84 (200m) at the Golden Grand Prix in Botswana on Sunday.
Stacked line-ups have also been announced across the other 12 disciplines on the main programme of the meeting, which is offering R1.46 million – a record prize purse for a track and field meeting in South Africa.
In the men’s 300m race, Olympic bronze medallist Muzala Samukonga of Zambia and local favourite Zakithi Nene are expected to be locked in a tight battle, with both athletes having run under 44 seconds in their careers over the 400m distance.
International stars
Other global stars who will be turning out include former Olympic silver medallist Ferguson Rotich of Kenya (men’s 800m) and African long jump record holder Luvo Manyonga.
Among the women, the 100m hurdles contest should be a cracker, with former world champion and Olympic silver medallist Nia Ali of the United States entering the blocks against another Olympic silver medallist Cyrena Samba-Mayela of France.
Croatian athlete Sara Kolak, who won Olympic gold in Rio in 2016, spearheads the javelin throw entry list, and former world indoor 800m champion Prudence Sekgodiso will go in the 1,500m race.