Blink. No, blink faster. Never mind. That’s how close Akani Simbine came to winning a medal in the men’s 100m at the Paris Olympics on Sunday night.
The 30-year-old ran the race of his life under the lights at a throbbing Stade de France, hitting the line in 9.82sec. That was the quickest he has ever gone and it set a South African record, It was his third straight Olympic final and he’s been the most consistent sprinter in the world since the Rio Games in 2016. There, he finished fifth in 9.94. In Tokyo three years ago he finished fourth in 9.93. And in Paris, he again finished fourth, despite the 9.82 time.
Fourth at an Olympics is the worst position in sport. To finish fourth in the men’s 100m at successive Olympics is simply cruel of the athletics gods.
He had gone progressively fast in each race, clocking 9.87 in winning his semi-final before going even faster. He got a flying start from lane five, with only Fred Kerley and defending Games champion Marcell Jacobs exploding out the blocks quicker.
All athletes were virtually in a straight line as they hit the 60m and surged for the line. The American Noah Lyles and Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson, in lanes four and seven, looked like they might have just snatched it, while Kerley and Simbine were locked as well.
It took what felt like an eternity to separate them. Then, up came the confirmation. Lyles had taken gold in 9.79, the first time he’d gone under 9.80. Thomson won silver also in 9.79 but was 0.005 of a second behind. Kerley had taken the bronze in 9.81 and Simbine was a hundredth of a second behind him.
Eighth place went to Jamaican Oblique Seville in 9.91. Extraordinary.
It was the first time in history that all eight men have finished sub-10 seconds in a race. It was only the third time ever that the 100m final had produced a sub-9.80 gold medallist. Simbine’s 9.82 would have won every Olympic final up until 2008, when Usain Bolt won the first of his three.
For Simbine lightning has struck twice, He’s the fastest man in South Africa, the fastest man in Africa. He runs the 100m in 9.82 seconds. He’s the fourth fastest man on the planet. And yet, he doesn’t have anything tangible to show for it.
Simbine has never been further back that fifth in three 100m Olympic finals. What would make it easier to stomach is if he wasn’t such a nice human being. That hurts. It hurts to watch helplessly, when someone who should be a household name and instantly recognisable when he walks down the street, has to again settle for fourth.
“That’s sprinting, it’s part of the game,” he said as he faced media in the aftermath of the final.
Simbine’s CV from 2016 now includes a fifth and two fourths in the Olympics and two fifths and a fourth in the world championships. He’s the ultimate nearly man of world sprinting.
“I’m happy to have got a national record, I’m happy to have been in the final. I’m happy to be the fourth fastest man in the world and I’m happy to have raced in three Olympics finals. When I saw my time it consoled me. No way am I leaving the sport now. I started it very late in my life and I still want to get more out of the sport,” the South African star said.
“I’m now 30 and running the fastest I ever have done in my life. Between Fred and me there was 0.01 seconds. What more can I ask from myself to run faster than ever before? I was in the race right until the end. My coach and I have been working hard to make myself faster, to be in the fight for medals.”
All is not lost for Simbine in terms of getting his hands on a deserved Olympic medal. He will anchor Team SA’s 4x100m men and they also have a puncher’s chance of getting in the mix. Just don’t dish up another fourth.
Team SA’s other athletes on the night experienced mixed fortunes.
While Lythe Pillay and Zakhiti Nene were unable to gain automatic qualification to the semi-finals, they progressed to the repechages of the men’s 400m but will now have to squeeze another race out of their legs.
Prudence Sekgodiso was uber-impressive in finishing second in her semi-final in 1:57.57 and goes into the women’s 800m final with a puncher’s chance of winning a medal.
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