South Africa advanced to the final of the 4x100m relay final at the Paris Olympics after Akani Simbine anchored the team over the line to keep track and field medal hopes alive on Thursday.
Using his blistering pace and anchoring prowess, Simbine powered through the field to finish number two with a time of 37.94. This is their season’s best time to secure a spot in the final.
Claiming the number one spot was the US, with Great Britain coming on at third position.
Forced changes
With Benjamin Richardson out injured, the team was forced to change the order. It moved starter Shaun Maswanganyi to the second leg on the back straight, and handed 18-year-old schoolboy Bayanda Walaza the responsibility to set the tone.
Walaza started the race and Bradley Nkoana ran on the bend to pass over the baton to Simbine. The latter had to cover a lot of ground past four men to steer SA to the final.
Earlier on the day, Marione Fourie was also in action in her 100m hurdles repechage. He managed to advance to the semi-final with a time of 12.79 on Friday night. The men’s 4x100m final will also be on Friday at 8.47pm (SA time).
Earlier in the week it was not meant to be for South Africa’s middle-distance runner Prudence Sekgodiso. She finished last in the 2024 Paris Olympics 800m final on Monday night.
Sekgodiso started the race well, but ran out of steam on the bend of the final lap. She threw in the towel once she saw that she would not get a medal and then settled for eighth place with a time of 1:58.79.
Great Britain’s Keely Hodgkinson walked away with the gold medal. Ethiopia’s Tsige Duguma and Kenya’s Mary Moraa grabbed silver and bronze, respectively.
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