South African sprinter Akani Simbine has extended his record of running the 100m under 10 seconds for 12 consecutive seasons. He achieved 9.98 seconds in the heats of his own Simbine Classic on 28 April 2026. Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie hailed him as the 'King of Consistency'.
Akani Simbine, the 32-year-old South African 100m record holder, clocked 9.98 seconds in the heats at the Simbine Classic on 28 April 2026 at Pilditch Stadium in Pretoria. This performance extended his unique streak of sub-10 second runs to 12 consecutive seasons, surpassing Usain Bolt's previous mark of 10. Cramps prevented him from contending for a podium in the final, but he has now achieved 50 official sub-10 times since 2015.
The event, hosted by Simbine, drew international athletes including Canada's Andre De Grasse and American Cambrea Sturgis. Just days earlier, on 23 April, Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie praised Simbine at a Pretoria press conference. “Akani Simbine is the South African 100m record holder, at 9.82 seconds, set at the Paris Olympics in 2024 where he finished fourth. He is an Olympic silver medallist as part of our 4x100m relay team in Paris,” McKenzie said. He added, “Akani became the only athlete in the history of this sport to run under 10 seconds in the 100m for 11 consecutive years... He is the King of Consistency. And if the 2026 season goes the way his career tells us it will, he will make it 12.”
Simbine continued his form at the 2026 World Relays in Botswana, helping South Africa secure silver in the 4x100m relay alongside Mvuyo Moss, Cheswill Johnson and Bradley Nkoana. Youngster Bayanda Walaza described Simbine's influence: “What I like about him is he’ll never make you feel like you are lower than him... He wants us to achieve even the dreams he couldn’t.”
Simbine holds the fastest fourth-place Olympic time of 9.82 from Paris 2024 and has reached numerous major finals, though often just off the podium. “Having that tag as the nearly man, it’s noise at the end of the day... I don’t need a medal to prove that. The medal is just the cherry on top,” he told BBC Sport.
