Simbine charges down field for win

Akani Simbine stormed back into the international frame in Suzhou near Shanghai on Saturday night, winning his eighth Diamond League 100m crown.

The South African was slower out the blocks than his main rivals, but the way he reeled them in one by one over the final 60m showed plenty of pace in his legs. Simbine crossed the line in 10.01sec, equalling his effort at the national championships in Pietermaritzburg the previous weekend to edge Christian Coleman, the 2019 world champ, into second spot by three-hundredths of a second.

Fred Kerley, the 2022 world champ, was third in 10.11sec, with Emmanuel Eseme of Cameroon fourth and Jamaican Ackeem Blake fifth.

The win is a huge boost for Simbine after the disqualification for a false start in the semifinals of the 2023 world championships in Budapest. “I knew the field here would be strong but I just had to replicate what I did last week at the SA Championships,” said the 30-year-old.

“This has built a lot of confidence leading into the Olympic year. This helps build momentum, which I hope to build on as the season progresses.”

The Paris 2024 Games are three months away and Simbine is still searching for a first major medal. The 2023 Hungarian showpiece saw his earliest exit at a major competition since 2015, after finishing fourth at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and 2019 world championships and fifth at the 2016 Rio Games and 2017 and 2022 world championships. The top four from the 2023 world championships were not in action. Only gold medallist Noah Lyles has run a 100m this season.