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Simbine owes SA a medal: Pillay

todayJuly 23, 2024 86

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Akani Simbine competes in the Mens 100M final during the 2016 Rio Olympic Games Athletics Events in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on 14 August 2016 ©Gavin Barker/BackpagePix

Akani Simbine will probably go into the Paris 2024 Olympic Games as the most under pressure South African athlete.

Simbine has been South Africa’s premier sprinter for the last decade but has failed to produce a medal for the country at a global stage and with him being 30 years old, the Paris games might be his final opportunity to deliver on the potential he’s promised for years.

Former SA Olympic track athlete Geraldine Pillay says there’s no place to hide from the pressure for the 100m sprinter.

“There’s a lot of pressure, I think the country feels that he owes us. He owes us a medal and 2024 hopefully is that year where he brings back a medal,” said Pillay.

While Simbine went through some hardships over the past year, he has also undergone some personal adjustments, which includes getting married and having his first child.

Pillay believes those factors may also fuel the sprinter to want to win a medal in Paris.

“We saw last year in Budapest (at World Championships) the type of pressure he was under; he false started in the semi-final. I think he has recovered from it mentally. His racing is a lot different this year. He’s married now; he’s a dad, there’s a bit of stability now. I really do think that this is the year for Akani,” she adds.

The sprinter will also take some confidence from his most recent race, where he ran a season’s best time of 9.85sec to finish second behind America’s Noah Lyles at the London Diamond League event.

“Physically we know he can do it; the body and the mind have to be on the same page,” concludes Pillay.

Written by: Ntsako Mukhari

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