Akani Simbine has returned home from a lengthy and successful international season, arriving to a small group of family and friends who welcomed him back to South Africa on Tuesday morning.
Looking back on a spectacular 2024 campaign, Simbine won two Diamond League races, broke his own national record to finish fourth in the Olympic 100m final in 9.82 seconds, and anchored the SA 4x100m relay team to the silver medal at the Paris Games.
The 30-year-old sprinter said he was delighted with his results throughout the year, which also saw him retaining his national 100m title and dipping under 10 seconds for the 10th season in succession.
“It’s been a great year. I think the Olympics was the highlight we all wanted, and for me, running my personal best at the Olympics and running great splits in the relay and actually getting a medal means it’s job done,” Simbine said.
“The aim was to get a medal, and I wanted one in the 100m, but I’m happy with the silver medal from the relay, and now I’m looking forward to next year.”
Future medal ambitions
Looking ahead, Simbine said he was still hungry for a major global medal in the 100m event, after finishing in the top five (but outside the top three) at the last three editions of the Olympics and three of the last four World Championships.
He hoped to challenge for the podium again at next year’s World Championships in Tokyo, as well as the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
For now, he was pleased to be able to celebrate a memorable 2024 season, but he still had ambitions at the highest level of international athletics.
“It’s just a flood of happiness, knowing that something I always said I could do has actually been done,” Simbine said.
“Now it’s like a chip off my shoulder, actually getting a medal that everybody believed I could get, and I’m inching closer to getting an individual medal, which is the big goal.
“I’ve got a medal now, and that stress is gone, so now I can go and run for an individual medal without any pressure.”
