Akani Simbine storms from behind to win eighth Diamond League title

Akani Simbine stormed back into the international frame in Suzhou near Shanghai on Saturday night as he downed two former world champions to win his eighth Diamond League 100m crown.

The South African was slower out the blocks than his main rivals, but the way he reeled them in one by one over the final 60 metres showed he still packs plenty of pace in his legs.

Simbine crossed the line in 10.01 sec, equalling his effort at the national championships in Pietermaritzburg last weekend to edge Christian Coleman, the 2019 world champ, into second spot by three-hundredths of a second.

Fred Kerley, the 2022 world champ, was third in 10.11, with Emmanuel Eseme of Cameroon fourth and Jamaican Ackeem Blake fifth.

The win will be a massive boost for Simbine after the disappointment of the disqualification for a false start in the semifinals of the world championships in Budapest last year.

“I knew the field here would be strong but I just had to replicate what I did last week at the South African Championships,” the 30-year-old said in quotes posted on the Diamond League website.

“This has built a lot of confidence leading into the Olympic year. This helps build momentum, which I hope to build on further as the season progresses.”

The Paris 2024 Games are three months away and Simbine is still searching for a first major medal.

The 2023 Hungarian showpiece had been his earliest exit at a major competition since 2015, after finishing fourth at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and 2019 world championships and fifth at the 2016 Rio Games and 2017 and 2022 world championships.

The top four from the 2023 world championships were not in action and so far only gold medallist Noah Lyles has run a 100m this season.

Simbine won his first Diamond League race in 2017 and he’s won at least one a year since 2019.