Top sprinter aims to be among the world’s best
AKANI Simbine is ready to unleash his Jamaicainfused blend of sprinting this season.
The South African speed star has spent the past few months fine-tuning his start according to the specifications recommended by Usain Bolt’s mentor, Glen Mills.
He was able to quickly implement only some of the tips he received during a training camp in the Caribbean in the middle of last year; after that Simbine lowered his national 100m record to 9.89sec and then he finished fifth at the Olympics.
But the bulk of Mills’s advice required at least a month off from competition, so the off-season was the only feasible time to put in the hard work to reprogramme his muscles.
That’s what the 23-year-old and coach Werner Prinsloo have done the past few months.
“All that stuff we’re working on — strengthening the hamstrings, strengthening the glutes, teaching the muscles when to fire, how to fire,” Simbine said after a training session at the Barnard stadium in the east of Johannesburg this week.
“We just need to see what happens once we get into blocks.”
Simbine’s main goal for this year is to reach the podium at the 2017 world championships in London in August.
“As an athlete you always want to do better. You always want to push yourself to be faster and for me, I don’t see the [9.89] record as something that’s unreachable.
“It’s something I can do — I’m still young, I’m still learning and the body’s still adapting to a lot of things. I believe I can run faster than 9.89.”
Simbine is also looking to shine in the 200m, which presents him with unfinished business after he was controversially overlooked for selection in that event for the Rio Olympics.
The 20.02 and 20.12 times that won the silver and bronze medals in the Olympic final were the slowest since the 2000 Sydney Games, and many onlookers believe Simbine’s omission was a missed medal chance for SA.
Simbine’s personal best of 20.16 — which he set an hour or so after running his 9.89 — would have earned him sixth place on the night.
But he’s convinced he is capable of a sub-20. “I’m going to double up at the national championships,” said Simbine, who last year was forced to scratch from that race after injuring himself in the 100m final, where he ended second behind Henricho Bruintjies.
Simbine is eager to compete at the SA showpiece in Potchefstroom, saying he will probably skip the World Relays which are in the Bahamas on the same weekend in April.
“I want to go to nationals and do well at nationals and be the national champ going to worlds . . . for me that’s more important.
“The South African guys don’t see us run much and to take that away from them on such a big day of athletics, it’s really not fair.
“I always say I want to give my parents — my parents always go to nationals — that thing that they were there to watch me race at nationals . . . they’re like my biggest supporters,” he added, pointing out the altitude of the North West city also promised some quick times.
Simbine’s educator mother has always insisted he finish his B Information Science degree at Tuks, and he hopes to oblige soon with just one more exam to write.
“I’m not about studying, it’s given me so much stress,” Simbine said with a smile. “For me, getting the degree is really great . . . you’ve always got a back-up. Which is good.”
However nerve-wracking he might find exams, nothing can match the near terror he felt before the Olympic 100m semifinals, where 24 sprinters competed for eight spots.
“The most stress I ever felt was not the 100m final, it was the semifinal.
“That race, from the call room to when they said ‘on your marks’, I’ve never been so nervous in my life. I thought the nerves were going to eat me up and I wasn’t going to be able to run.”
But he flew, going 9.98 to become the first South African since 1932 to reach an Olympic 100m final. There, he went 9.94 to finish a mere threehundredths of a second outside the medals.
Fifth was still enough to achieve recognition, and his life has changed as a result.
“I can’t go into a mall now without someone recognising me,” said Simbine, who was asked to pose for a picture with another coach after one of his 60m sprints. He happily obliged, even thanking the person. The small stadium sits in a green lung at Kempton Park and enjoys a rustic feel that camouflages its proximity to OR Tambo, the busiest airport on the continent.
On the grass track, away from the roaring crowds, Simbine is preparing for his own worldconquering take-off.
As an athlete you always want to do better. You always want to push yourself to be faster and I don’t see the record as unreachable