Akani Simbine


Akani Simbine is a South African sprinter. He competed in the 100 metres event at the 2013 World Championships in Athletics and 2016 Summer Olympics and he won the 2018 Commonwealth Games 100m final. He finished fifth in 9.94 seconds in the 100m final of the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro on 14 August 2016. He is the 2018 Commonwealth Games 100 metres champion.
Whilst an Information Science student at University of Pretoria, Simbine equaled the South African record while setting an event record on 9 July 2015 in his gold medal winning run at the 2015 Universiade in Gwangju, South Korea. Simbine broke the South African record in 100 m with a time of 9.89 seconds at the Gyulai István Memorial in Székesfehérvár on 18 July 2016. In the first meet of the 2017 IAAF Diamond League in Doha, Simbine won the 100m event with a time of 9.99 seconds.

Biography

Simbine started his 2020 season with a 150 m race at the University of Johannesburg Stadium on 14 February, equaling the South African record time while jogging to the finish line. He ran his first 100 m for the season on 14 March at the University of Pretoria Tuks Stadium. Unsure whether or not he would be able to compete later in the season because of the rapidly spreading COVID-19 pandemic, he pushed all the way to the finish line in a world-leading time of 9.91 seconds in the heats.

Statistics

Information from World Athletics profile unless otherwise noted.

Personal bests

International championship results

100 m circuit wins