By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Akani Simbine and Shaun Maswanganyi are through to the Semi-finals of the Men’s 100m at the Stade de France track.
Simbine won heat six in a time of 10.03, while Maswanganyi, who was in the same race as American hotshot Noah Lyles, was third in heat three, finishing in a time of 10.06.
It was just a normal heat, a very comfortable heat. Just the starter held us very long in the blocks, but other than that it was fine. It was just about getting through to the next round. The body is feeling good, healthy and I’m looking forward to it.”
Simbine will be aiming to improve on his heartbreaking fourth place from Tokyo three years ago and finally reach a first Olympic podium. Asked if he was in the shape to do so, he reckoned: “It’s not about my physical state right now, it’s more mental. I think when you get to a championship, you’re physically ready, you have to be… and mentally, I’m here. It’s something I’ve been doing for 10 years now and I’m really enjoying it. I’m in a place where I feel peace and I get fulfilled when I’m on the track right now.
“But it’s always one race at a time at the moment… I’m looking forward to tomorrow and we’ll see what happens.”
Also going straight through was US-based Shaun Maswanganyi, who is coached by nine-time Olympic champion Carl Lewis. He finished third in his heat in 10.06.
“I made a few mistakes in that race. I got a little bit too upright after I got ahead and lost the lead,” said Maswanganyi afterwards. “But I knew I went wrong with that, so I’m going to correct that in the next couple of sessions in my warm-up. I know I’ll focus on that with coach Carl.
“But just good to get the jitters out the way. It’s a packed stadium, the fullest stadium I’ve ever run in… and it’s exciting.
“It’s honestly exciting just to run out there with [world champion] Noah Lyles, it’s a different experience, but I’m taking that as a confidence boost, I know what it takes to compete with these guys.”
Joining them in the semifinals will be Benji Richardson, who finished fourth in his heat in 10.06 but went through as one of the fastest three non-automatic qualifiers.
Meanwhile Rower Paigen Badenhorst was the first Team SA representative in action at the Paris Olympics on Saturday. She finished 2nd in the women’s C final of the single sculls, which gave her 14th place overall.
Elsewhere, men’s road cycling, men’s golf, men’s 100m sprints and women’s hockey are all on the menu for Team SA at the Games on Saturday.
They started the day with four medals with Tatjana Smith (gold and silver) and the men’s sevens rugby and Alan Hatherly (bronze) putting them at 24th place on the overall table. For now, China lead Japan and France in the standings.