Local Olympic sprinter, Akani Simbine, blitzed the 100 metres in 9.82s on Thursday afternoon during the South African Champs at the Tuks Athletics stadium.

It would have been a new national record if it was not for the wind from behind.

The wind meter reading in his semi-final was 2.8m/s. It needed to be 2m/s. He is not the only athlete to be snookered by the wind. Gift Leotlela won his semi-final in 9.94s, but the wind was blowing at 3.6m/s. So, his time is also unofficial.

Still, Leotlela has the satisfaction of knowing he is only the sixth South African sprinter to clock a time faster than 10 seconds. The others are Simbine, Henricho Bruintjies, Wayde van Niekerk, Thando Roto and Simon Magakwe.

“I will take it for now,” the Tuks sprinter said. Vowing that he is going to be faster on Friday afternoon during the final.

Simbine was quite relaxed about missing out on setting a new South African record.

“I came to the national championships wanting to run fast. That is why I am happy with 9.82s. The time is in the legs now. The challenge remains to keep on working to be faster. I want to end the South African season with a new personal best. It would give me confidence when I compete internationally,” explained Simbine, who ran 9.89s in 2016.

Wind allowing it won’t be a surprise if Simbine sets a new national record on Friday afternoon during the 100m-final. There seem to be something at the Tuks track that gets him to perform at his best.

In 2017 at Tuks, he became the first South African sprinter to twice dip under 10 seconds in the 100 metres (9.92s and 9.95s) on the same day. Simbine also holds the distinction of being one of only a few sprinters to run sub ten seconds over 100 metres and sub twenty over 200 metres one the same day. Again, it was at the Tuks Athletics Stadium.

One of the big moments in South African athletics happened on 17 March this year on the Tuks track.  Simbine won, running 9.92s. Thando Roto finished second in 9.95s. It still the only time that two South African sprinters dipped under ten seconds in the same race.

It could happen again tomorrow. Leotlela is seemingly in good form, while another Tuks athlete, Thando Dlodlo, was also impressive on Thursday afternoon, winning his semi-final in 10.21s. So, who knows. It could be history in the making again.

To top it all, South Africa’s sprint revolution started at the Tuks track. In 2014 during the national championships, Simon Magakwe clocked a time of 9.98s in the 100 metres. He was the first local sprinter to break through the ten-second barrier.

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