Akani Simbine achieved his own chunk of history at the Rio Games yesterday morning, even if it was overshadowed by his friends, Usain Bolt and Wayde van Niekerk. Like Joubert, Simbine finished fifth, crossing the line in 9.94sec, the second-best time of his career, but he was agonisingly close to reaching the podium.The 22-year-old missed out on a medal by a mere three-hundredths of a second. The 9.89 personal best he ran in Europe last month would have earned him a share of silver alongside American Justin Gatlin.Jamaican superstar Bolt captured his third Olympic 100m gold in 9.81, and Canadian André de Grasse was third in 9.91."I'm really happy," Simbine said afterwards. "I'm just disappointed I tensed up at the end and I lost that bronze medal. I watched the video and I was actually in third spot. I just tightened up in the last 5m and that's where I lost it."Only one South African man has ever won an Olympic 100m medal, and that was Reggie Walker, taking gold at London 1908.Simbine had to wait a bit before finding out whether he had qualified for the final as the fastest loser.The top two finishers from the three semifinals were automatic qualifiers, with the two fastest losers taking the final two lanes.Simbine had been third in his semifinal, but his impressive 9.98 secured him a spot in the blue riband event of the Olympics.Two sub-10 runs 90 minutes apart is impressive, especially considering Bolt complained about the timing afterwards, saying he had never had less than two hours previously.This was the biggest stage Simbine, known as "Mr Chill", has ever competed on, but he insisted he was relaxed.A University of Pretoria student, he said: "I was really calm. The main goal here was just to make the final. At the beginning of the year I told myself I need to make the final, and after the semi it was like deal done."Simbine is due to compete at the Paris and Zurich diamond leagues, but in the off-season he plans to implement all the tips on starting he received from Bolt's coach, Glen Mills, during a training camp in Jamaica in June.There's more history to be made. ..