Simbine on brink of 100m final spot

in Rio AKANI Simbine bids to become the first South African in 84 years to make the Olympic men’s 100m final in Rio tonight.

Jamaican star Usain Bolt, sporting a new close-shaven hairdo, is attempting to bag the triple-treble of Games gold medals for the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay.

The athletics stadium was almost empty on Friday, but the crowds came out yesterday morning for the 100m heats.

Simbine easily won his heat in 10.14sec, and finds himself with a realistic chance of progressing beyond the semifinal tonight (2am tomorrow SA time).

He boasts the second-fastest season’s best in his semifinal, his 9.89sec national record slower only than Frenchman Jimmy Vicaut’s 9.86.

The first two finishers in each of the three semis qualify automatically for the final (3.25am), with the two fastest losers making up the field.

“If I can get my start right, get out the blocks sharper and quicker, then it’ll all come together,” said Simbine, who wanted to improve on his start.

“I need to get out quicker for the next round and the final as well.”

Simbine’s 10.14 was the 13th quickest of the morning’s eight heats, with American Justin Gatlin fastest in 10.01 and Bolt fourth best in 10.07.

Simbine said he was unfazed when he noticed that some rivals had posted fast times for a morning session. “I don’t think about what others are running because this is my race and I must control the race.”

Simbine’s start has improved since working on tips he received in Jamaica from Bolt’s coach, Glen Mills, in June.

In the warm-up area before his race he went over to greet Bolt, Yohan Blake and the coach, Mills.

“They’re very supportive,” said Simbine. “We all wished each other all the best.

“I spoke to Bolt and I told him he looks very young now because all the hair’s gone and he’s like ‘yeah, yeah, that’s what I’m trying to do’.”

Simbine, dubbed “Mr Chill” for his relaxed demeanour, admitted he had felt nerves before the race. “At the line it was very hectic, I was very nervous coming into the race since I woke up . . . [but] I’ve got all the jitters out now.”

Simbine’s training partner, Henricho Bruintjies, failed to progress past the heats, finishing sixth in 10.33, 0.13sec slower than the fastest loser and 44th out of the 69 starters.

“It was a bad day at the office today. I lost my focus because they made us stand [for a] very long [time],” he said. “[It was] 40 minutes just standing there doing nothing . . . In the warm-up I felt fine.”

The last South African man to compete in an Olympic 100m final was Danie Joubert, who finished fifth at Los Angeles 1932. The last South African competitor in a 100m final was Daphne Hasenjager, the silver medallist at Helsinki 1952.