The smile had returned to Akani Simbine’s face when he left the World Athletics Championships track in Budapest on Friday night.
Having been cruelly denied a shot at a medal in the 100m after a disqualification in the semifinals, the South African record holder resumed his major championship podium quest alongside Shaun Maswanganyi, Benjamin Richardson and Clarence Munyai in the 4x100m relay.
Heartrates would have been racing at the start of the heats, particularly for Munyai and Maswanganyi, whose botched baton change saw the SA relay team’s Olympic campaign in the event coming to a crashing end after the first leg in Tokyo. This time it was different though. Despite running in the tricky lane two, the changeovers were slick and by the time the baton reached Simbine, there was no stopping him as he charged forward to finish in second place in 37.72 to safely secure a spot in Saturday night’s final.
Speaking after the race, Simbine said he was thrilled simply to have another shot at competing.
“It was good. It feels good to run, it feels good to race, it feels good to be able to be on the track again. For me it’s more about being on the track and also being on the track with these guys and able to mentor them into the next generation in South Africa. It’s really great and for me, I’m happy, happy for the guys, happy for the team and excited for tomorrow,” he said.
“Running from lane two was really difficult and already puts you at a disadvantage so for us to come out of lane two and qualify for the final I think we should be patting ourselves and saying ‘ok, if we get a better lane tomorrow we can do something great.’ These are athletes that are in shape, they’re athletes who are ready to go… and if we put it together tomorrow we’re going to do amazing.”
All four runners spoke about the excellent team chemistry. Benjamin reckoned: “We just clicked. We never thought it would happen if I’m being honest but when we got on the track, from the relay practices things just went well, we communicated well, and we ran well as you saw today… It’s a vibe.”
Asked how he managed to lift himself up from the disappointment of that 100m semifinal disaster, Simbine reckoned: “I think it’s just being around a good group of people – these guys, the South African team, my family back at home, everyone, athletes around here from different countries, managers, coaches have been sending messages and reaching out to me when I see them at the track. They all tell me their money was on me. They still support me and support me for next year so that helped me look at it in a different way and just see that in this game I’m not running by myself. There are people who support me and I have a lot of support in athletics and I have a lot of support all around the world as well.”
Should they reach the podium on Saturday night, they won’t be the first South African quartet to do so. Back in 2001, the team of Morné Nagel, Corne du Plessis, Lee-Roy Newton and Mathew Quinn famously claimed the silver medal which was later upgraded to gold after the USA were stripped of their medal when Tim Montgomery was banned for doping.
At the last World Athletics Championships in Oregon, the South African team which included both Simbine and Munyai finished in sixth place in 38.10.
They’ll have another shot at that podium spot at 9.40pm tonight and will be running in lane 7 with Jamaica on their inside and the USA on their outside.
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