South Africa’s Akani Simbine continued his impressive start to the season by winning the men’s 100m at the Diamond League meeting in Shanghai on Saturday, adding to his earlier triumph in Xiamen. The 31-year-old, who claimed a 60m bronze at the World Indoor Championships in March, remains unbeaten over 100m in 2024.
Simbine clocked 9.98 seconds, edging out Olympic silver medallist Kishane Thompson by just 0.01 seconds. Thompson appeared to be in control for much of the race, but Simbine timed his finish perfectly to pass him in the final strides. Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo finished third.
𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗡 𝗧𝗢 𝗕𝗘𝗔𝗧 𝗜𝗡 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱🇿🇦
Akani Simbine once again dips under 10 seconds this year with a time of 9.98 at #KeqiaoDL 🙌 pic.twitter.com/2BYHtjOE3M
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) May 3, 2025
Simbine’s form will be encouraging ahead of the Paris Olympics later this year, as he looks to secure his first major outdoor medal after several near misses in past global finals.
Elsewhere in Shanghai, Jo-Ane van Dyk claimed a podium finish in the women’s javelin. The Olympic silver medallist threw 62.53m to take third place, behind Greece’s Elina Tzengko and China’s Qianqian Dai. Van Dyk led the event after three rounds but was ultimately overtaken.
Lythe Pillay, competing in lane nine in the men’s 400m, finished eighth in 45.39 seconds — slightly slower than his season’s best of 44.97.
Photo: Johann Meintjes/Gallo Images
