Indoors 60m bronze is ‘not the thing’, says Simbine, eyeing more medals

Sprinter Akani Simbine is chuffed with the 60m bronze — his first individual global medal — but he warned that it didn’t define his career.

“It’s not the thing, it doesn’t define my career. Yes, I have the medal now, but there are still more medals that I want to get, there are still more medals that I want to achieve.”

Simbine, 31, was speaking on his return from the world indoor championships in Nanjing, China, where he finished third in the short sprint.

“I’m looking forward to the season and it’s a great morale booster. It’s a great confidence booster for myself and it’s a great confidence booster for the [relay] team.”

Simbine anchored the men’s 4x100m team to Olympic silver in Paris last year and he’s excited to see what they can produce in 2025.

“The guys are running well, they’re competing well, and they’re giving great performances. So the selectors are going to have a tough time choosing,” he said.

“I’m looking forward to it, looking forward to actually being with the guys again and running with the guys and hopefully bring back another medal.

Teenager Bayanda Walaza recently set the pace in the 100m, clocking 9.99 sec for a national under-20 record and showing Simbine that he can expect some competition at the national championships in Potchefstroom next month.

“He’s really in shape and it’s something that I’ve always been looking for. Over the last couple of years, we’ve always had to just come to SAs [SA champs] and then we’ll run SAs, but there was no-one that is running to a point where I could say, 'OK, yeah, this is something that I have to do.'

“But it's great that he's running well, and I'm not [discounting] the other guys. The other guys are also running well.

“It’s not just Bayanda, it’s a South African sprinter story. And that sprinter story goes and impacts the relay and that’s where we need to also put an effort in.”

Athletics South Africa president James Moloi said the relay team would get their first taste of action in Botswana ahead of the World Relays where they will attempt to qualify for the world championships in Tokyo.

Simbine, who has placed in the top five in the 100m at the Olympics and world championships on six occasions since 2016, was asked about his ability to remain so consistent over the years.

“I’m ageing like fine wine,” he joked. “But on a serious note I think it’s just props to my team. I think my team has and is still keeping me going. I think they are the ones that keep me healthy. They are the ones that make sure I am still competitive at this age. They are the ones that have been going through this journey with me.

“I’ve only had one team since the beginning of my career, and I haven’t changed that... And I think because we are also allowing ourselves to learn year by year, it’s giving us time to grow... I’m just a vehicle. They are [the ones who] put me together.”

Simbine said he hoped the new generation of sprinters would match his longevity.

“I do the thing because I love it and I have a passion for it, and I'm getting to grow in it.

“I’m just grateful for the opportunity to come back every year and set a goal to be an Olympic medallist, a world champs medallist, and show up all the time.”

Simbine broke into the top eight when Usain Bolt was the standout champion, but at the five world championships and two Olympics since only American Noah Lyles has managed to win two, with different sprinters claiming the other three.

But spending more than a decade racing against the world’s and country’s best has done nothing to change his mind about how he views his races and rivals.

“I still look at it as competition,” said Simbine. “If you’re going to step on the line, I see you as a competitor, and I will want to race you. I will want to beat you.”