-
Akani Simbine, who pulled up with what looked like an injury in the 100m final at the Simbine Classic in Pretoria, on Tuesday evening, is available for the championships.
The 18th edition of the World Athletics Relay Championships will take place in Gaborone, Botswana, this weekend, with places at the World Championships up for grabs.
There is good news for Team South Africa as Star sprinter, Akani Simbine, who pulled up with what looked like an injury in the 100m final at the Simbine Classic in Pretoria on Tuesday evening, is available for the championships.
Home favourite Simbine pulled up injured midway through the race at his own event, the Simbine Classics at the Pilditch Stadium, on Tuesday, and that caused concern amongst the South African athletics fans, just four days before the World Athletics Relays in Gaborone, Botswana, but his coach, Werner Prinsloo, says he slowed down as a precautionary measure.
“It’s just preventative. He felt something, but it’s all good; he’ll be ready to run the relays this weekend. In terms of his performance on Tuesday, we’re very happy with the opener. It’s a late opener for us this year, but I think it’ll work out for us,” says Prinsloo.
South Africa became the fourth different team to claim the men’s 4 by 100m title at the World Athletics Relays with their win in Guangzhou, China, last year. It was World indoor bronze medalist, Simbine, along with Bayanda Walaza, Bradley Nkoana and Sinesipho Dambile who raced to victory in a time of 37. 6-1 seconds.
Prinsloo is confident his team is capable of successfully defending the title in Gaborone.
“They all do. As I said, many of these athletes have been together for the past couple of years and have competed in the Olympics, World Championships, and World Relays. So they gel easily. As you get closer to the weekend, you can feel the tension rising, and everyone pulls together,” he adds.
Meanwhile, Marlie Viljoen, who is the captain of the women’s 4 x 400m relay, says they aim to reach the final where anything can happen.
South Africa’s men’s 4 by 400 relay team ended the country’s 8-year medal drought at the Athletics World Championships after claiming bronze in the final in Tokyo Japan. The team of Lythe Pillay, Udeme Okon, Wayde van Niekerk and Zakhiti Nene was in a fierce battle to the end… pic.twitter.com/tH00hbdGOz
— SABC News (@SABCNews) September 21, 2025
“We just want to build on last year’s momentum. The main goal is just to get into the finals. We want all the teams to reach the finals. And yeah, then we’ll run for a medal. Anything is possible in a final. And we’ll make sure that the best teams run to get that chance,” she says.
Team South Africa‘s high-performance manager, Hezekiel Sepeng, says the bigger picture is the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 2028.
“It doesn’t matter for us. We go in there to defend. This is part of our preparation for 2028. I mean, you still have Canada, you still have Japan, it’s not only about America or Jamaica. You also have countries that have won the Olympics. Great Britain is there with a strong team. Japan is always competitive, and there are several countries that have performed very well. We don’t write off America either, because they have depth. Even when they bring in younger athletes, they still provide strong competition. So for us, the focus is to go there, put forward the best team, and make sure we defend our title,” says Sepeng.
Team SA won silver in the four by 100. relay at the Paris Olympics in 2024.
Three members of the team that won gold in Guangzhou last year, Sinesipho Dambile, Bradley Nkoana and Simbine are in this year’s squad.
RELATED VIDEO | SA looking for more medals in relays
