South African athlete Akani Simbine has been the talk of the town following his performance in the Men’s 100m final at the Olympic Games 2024 in Paris.
South African sprinter Akani Simbine was the only athlete who made it to the finals after Shaun Maswanganyi and Benjamin Richardson failed to qualify for the semi-final rounds. He has been trending on social media after he finished fourth at the Men’s final 100m race.
Earlier, media personality Maps Maponyane weighed in on Simbine’s performance and how the athlete finished 4th, missing the podium finish by just 0.01 seconds, on his Twitter (X) page.
He wrote:
“My heart breaks for Akani. That man’s commitment, discipline, and dedication to his sport and dream have been incomparable… He was in the mix in Rio (finishing 5th), in the mix in Tokyo (finishing 4th), and again in Paris (finishing 4th) by running 11 seconds faster than any other previous Olympic 100m final he’s been in. All that stood between him and a medal was 1/100th of a second. Sport can be so cruel, and few things can beat the cruelty of coming so close (again and again) and knowing that if you still have it in you, you’ll have to wait another four years for your next chance.”
See the post below:
My heart breaks for Akani. That man’s commitment, discipline, and dedication to his sport and dream has been incomparable…
He was in the mix in Rio (finishing 5th), in the mix in Tokyo (finishing 4th), and again in Paris (finishing 4th), by running 11 secs faster than any… pic.twitter.com/R5wVBfY56h— Maps Maponyane (@MapsMaponyane) August 4, 2024
Shortly after Maps weighed in on Akani’s performance, many fans and followers had mixed reactions:
@MpeshWP wrote:
“He must retire he will be slower in 4 years time.”
@AndileNgidi7 said:
“There is still the relay. We have a great chance to medal there.”
@redcardexpert responded:
“Small details matter, Maps…The latest Nike Maxfly is lighter and more comfortable than the Adidas boost or whatever it is that he’s wearing….wrong choice or is he sponsored by Adidas?”
@BlossomDirero replied:
“My mom and stayed up late to watch. I was so sad. He is a champion in my eyes!”
@joyBongie said:
“4 years got nothing on him.”
