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SA sprint duo make 100m history, but medals prove elusive in Tokyo final

Roxanne MartinNewsLeave a Comment on SA sprint duo make 100m history, but medals prove elusive in Tokyo final

Akani Simbine and Gift Leotlela ensured South Africa had two representatives in the 100m final for the first time in World Athletics Championships history in Tokyo on Sunday. But a medal was not to be for the duo, with Leotlela finishing fifth in 9.95 seconds and Simbine seventh in 10.04. By Karien Jonckheere

After a false start from Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo, who was then disqualified, it was Jamaica’s Oblique Seville who outgunned the pack to take gold in a speedy 9.77 seconds, with his compatriot Kishane Thompson second in 9.82 and defending world champion and Olympic gold medallist Noah Lyles settling for bronze in 9.89 seconds.

Speaking afterwards, Simbine explained he had suffered cramp at the beginning of the race – something he wasn’t able to overcome to perform at his best.

“I cramped up a bit at the start and just couldn’t recover from that,” he said. “We’re just going to reassess how the body is and hopefully I’m good to go for the [4x100m] relay.”

Unlike Simbine, who has now featured in seven major championship finals, Leotlela was competing in his first after an impressive two days, which included running a blistering 9.87 seconds in the heats.

“It was amazing, I don’t want to lie, starting from last night, and I got a lot of confidence from the heats… I ran three sub-10s in two days, so I’ll take that as a big win.”

Adriaan Wildschutt finished in 10th spot in the 10,000m final earlier in the evening after losing touch with the leaders with just under a lap to go. He finished in 28 minutes 59.47 seconds, with the gold going to Frenchman Jimmy Gressier in 28:55.77 seconds.

“I just had to stay connected and conserve as much energy as possible and see how hard I could close. I didn’t quite have it towards the end, but I was there with 300m to go and I’m pretty proud of that,” said Wildschutt.

Earlier in the evening, both Zakithi Nene and Lythe Pillay eased through their respective heats to book places in the 400m semifinals. Current world leader Nene won his heat in 44.34 seconds with Pillay second in his heat in 44.73.

“Not a lot of athletes can say they’ve gone into world championships as world leader and that’s an achievement on its own that one should be proud of. So I’m wearing my bib with pride, I’ve got a target on my back, but I’m ready to defend it,” he said of the special blue numbers reserved for those who have run the fastest times of the year in each event. 

The other South Africans to impress on Sunday were Marioné Fourie, who finished second in her 100m hurdles heat in 12.86 seconds to book a spot in Monday’s semifinals, while Tshepo Tshite finished sixth in his 1500m heat in 3:36.36 to also progress to the next round.

Gift blazes to personal best as Team SA set relay record in Tokyo

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Gift Leotlela got South Africa’s campaign at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo off to a speedy start on Saturday, blazing to a new personal best time in the 100m heats and booking a place in Sunday’s semifinal. By Karien Jonckheere

The 27-year-old has struggled with injury throughout his career, and even in the buildup to these championships, struggled with a tendon issue behind his knee. But there was no sign of that as he tore down the Tokyo track, finishing in 9.87 seconds to record the fastest time of the night – something he admitted afterwards, he wasn’t specifically targeting.

“I was just focused on executing my race and focusing on myself, and it came so I was really happy with that,” said Gift afterwards.

“It felt really good. I haven’t been putting my races together this season, so I actually put it together and everything clicked, the body was feeling good, and it was really a good run.”

Also comfortably through to the semifinals was a confident-looking Akani Simbine, who won the final heat of the night in 10.02 seconds.

“Very comfortable, very controlled. I think today was just about getting into the stadium and feeling the energy, and also controlling the race and controlling the pace of the race,” said Akani. “I think that was the whole plan – not spending too much energy today so that tomorrow I have a full tank to go into the semifinals and the final.”

Earlier in the day, the South African quartet of Gardeo Isaacs, Miranda Coetzee, Leendert Koekemoer and Zenéy van der Walt combined to set a new national and continental record in the 4x400m mixed relay. They finished third in their heat in 3 minutes 11.16 seconds to not only set the new mark, but also book a place in the final later in the evening.

“We were very happy. Our main goal was just to get into that final and running an area record is just a bonus,” said Zenéy afterwards. Speaking about his impressive leg of 44.14 seconds, 18-year-old Leendert added: “I basically just stuck to my race. I ran my own race, didn’t focus on other people and then when I executed what my style fits, it all worked out at the end.”

Just one race later, the Kenyan team eclipsed the new record in their heat, but the time didn’t stand as they were disqualified for a lane infringement.

Later in the final, Coetzee was replaced by Shirley Nekhubui in the SA team, who finished in sixth spot in a time of 3:11.89 while the United States took the gold in a championship record of 3:08.80.

Akani Simbine storms to world indoor champs bronze

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Akani Simbine finally has an individual medal from a major championship. 

That’s after the 31-year-old stormed to third place in the 60m final at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Nanjing, China on Friday.

The Pretoria sprinter was, of course, the protagonist in leading the South African team to a 4x100m relay silver medal at last year’s Olympic Games in Paris. 

But, after coming so close at various major championships over the last decade, Friday’s performance saw Akani securing his first-ever individual podium place at a global event.

Britain’s Jeremiah Azu equalled his personal best to take the gold in a time of 6.49 seconds with Australian Lachlan Kennedy second by just one-hundredth of a second and Akani third in 6.54.

This is the first time Akani has competed at the World Athletics Indoor Championships, having only run one race indoors in the build-up to the event.

“It’s really good to get the medal as this is my first indoor championship ever in my life,” said an ecstatic Akani afterwards. “Coming in, running and getting a medal, I cannot ask for anything more. 

“I came with no expectations, only trying to see how far I can get in this run. I had never done this before, it’s all different, it’s all new.” 

He added that there is still work plenty of work to be done ahead of the outdoor season.

“Confidence-wise, this is bringing me up, but also, there is something I need to further work on, like the first 10 metres in the beginning of the race, and that would leave me less work to do at the end. I am now looking forward to the season and growing in the season and getting better.”

Earlier in the day, Prudence Sekgodiso ran a controlled race to claim victory in her 800m heat, winning in a time of 2:03.89.

That saw the 23-year-old Olympic finalist qualifying sixth fastest for the semifinals which are scheduled for the early hours of Saturday morning, South African time. The final will be contested on Sunday afternoon.

Just two other South Africans are competing in Nanjing. Cheswill Johnson will be in action in the long jump and Chris van Niekerk in the shot put – both on Sunday.

Team South Africa’s Sunday Results

Tanika LaskeyFeatures, NewsLeave a Comment on Team South Africa’s Sunday Results

Sunday was a busy day for Team SA, featuring events in athletics, cycling, and golf.  Star sprinter Akani Simbine reached the final of the men’s 100m when he won his semi-final in an impressive 9.87sec, He then went even faster for a lifetime best 9.82, but had to settle for fourth, for the second successive Games.

Athletics:
Men’s 100m, Semi Finals & Final
South African sprinter Akani Simbine reached the men’s 100m final at the 2024 Paris Olympics by winning his semi-final with an impressive time of 9.87 seconds. In the final, he achieved a personal best of 9.82 seconds, finishing fourth for the second consecutive Games. Simbine had been the fifth fastest qualifier after his semi-final win and a recent 9.86-second run in London. He had predicted that a sub-9.80 time would be necessary to win gold. 

Long Jump Qualification:
Jovan van Vuuren’s leap of 7.70m was unfortunately not enough to be in the top 12 distances to qualify for the next round. Cheswill Johnson was also not able to get through to the next round, with a jump of 4.49m.

Women’s 400m Hurdles – Round 1
Rogail Joseph ran a personal best time in her heat, finishing 2nd. She automatically qualifies for the semi-final on Tuesday, 6 August.

Zeney Geldenhuys finished third in her heat, achieving automatic qualification for the semi-final on Tuesday, 6 August..

Men’s 400m Round 1
Lythe Pillay finished his race in 7th position, which was not enough for automatic qualification for the semi-final. He will run in the repechage race on Monday, 5 August.

Zakhiti Nene finished 4th in his race, which was one position outside of the automatic qualification for the semi-final.
He too will be running in the repechage race on Monday, 5 August.

Men’s 100m Semi Finals
Shaun Maswanganyi finished 5th in his semi-final heat, achieving a season-best time. However, his position and time were not good enough to qualify for the final.

Benjamin Richardson ran a time below 10 seconds, clinching 3rd position. His position and time were also not enough for him to qualify for the final.

Women’s 800m Semi Final
Prudence Sekgodiso finished 2nd in her heat, gaining automatic qualification for the final. The final will be run on Monday, 5 August.

Golf: Individual Stroke Play – Round 4
Final results: Christiaan Bezuidenhout finished in 16th position overall on 10 under par, shooting -2 on the final day. Erik van Rooyen finished in 17th position on 9 under par, shooting -1 on Sunday. Eventual winner, Scottie Scheffler, finished at -19, shooting -9 on the day.

Cycling: Women’s Road Race
Ashleigh Moolman Pasio finished the race in 33rd position, while Tiffany Keep did not manage to finish the race.

Prudence and Akani light up the athletics weekend with world leads

Tanika LaskeyFeatures, NewsLeave a Comment on Prudence and Akani light up the athletics weekend with world leads

By Karien Jonckheere

Both Prudence Sekgodiso and Akani Simbine produced world-leading performances over the weekend, laying down important markers in the build-up to the Paris Olympics.

Competing in her first international race of the season, Sekgodiso ran a spectacularly timed 800m at the Diamond League meet in Marrakech on Sunday night to finish in a new personal best time of 1:57.26 which was also the fastest time in the world this year. The previous best of 1:57.56 had been set by Uganda’s Halimah Nakaayi just a day earlier.

“I didn’t expect to run so fast,” admitted the 22-year-old afterwards. “Winning was in my mind but not with such a fast time. It’s crazy fast. I am so proud of myself tonight.

“Achieving a world lead and a personal best is just amazing. But I cannot say that this performance will change something for me in terms of goals and expectations. For the Paris Olympics, I will try to reach the final. I want to be in the big eight.”

Sekgodiso confirmed her next race will be in Nancy, France on 25 May before heading to the Diamond League meet in Stockholm on 2 June.

Meanwhile, over in the USA, Simbine stormed to victory in the 100m at the Adidas Atlanta City Games in a sizzlingly quick 9.90 seconds. That saw him getting the better of continental rival Ferdinand Omanyala of Kenya, who was second in 10.00. Simbine’s time not only makes him the quickest in the world so far this year but also means he has now completed a full decade of running sub-10 second times each year.

Asked if his performance puts him in the conversation regarding being the king of African sprinters, Simbine simply smiled and said: “I’ve always been part of the conversation, I never left.”

As for his ambitions this season, the 30-year-old added: “I need to get my position on the [Olympic] podium so that’s what we’re working towards and I’m focused towards that.

“South Africa is making a lot of noise in the sprints,” he added.

“There’s a lot of us, not just from South Africa but the southern region of Africa… the youth that’s coming out are really great and I’m excited to be part of the Games still and be racing against these young kids so ja, I’m looking forward to it and hoping to stay on top.”

Akani, Wayde and Tatjana head Team SA as first batch of Olympic athletes announced

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By Karien Jonckheere

Akani Simbine, Tatjana Smith and Wayde van Niekerk were all among the 39 athletes who officially had their tickets to Paris confirmed for later this year when the first Olympic team announcement was made by the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic and Paralympic Committee (SASCOC) in Johannesburg on Wednesday.

Teams were announced across seven sporting codes, with two more official announcements to come in the next two months.

The athletics team is far from complete with the qualification period still open and those athletes booking their tickets via world rankings yet to be finally determined.

Among those at the team announcement on Wednesday was young 400m star Lythe Pillay, who has just returned from helping the South Africa 4x400m quartet to a silver medal at the recent World Athletics Relays in the Bahamas.

“It’s really exciting. It’s still a bit surreal,” he said of making the Olympic team. “I’m really process orientated. I’m always just fixated on training and doing what I have to do. I very seldom take time to sit back and really acknowledge what has just happened and what I’ve achieved… it’s given me more of a sense of motivation to progress and keep pushing.”

Also thrilled to have booked her trip to Paris was Cian Oldknow who is one of three women, along with Gerda Steyn and Irvette van Zyl, to have qualified in the marathon.

“Until it’s official, it’s always a bit like – ooh, are we actually going? So I think now it’s starting to sink in that I really made the team,” she said. “I’m very excited… I can’t wait for what’s coming. I’m so excited to be on the start line with all my role models.”

Meanwhile, heading the swimming team is Tokyo gold and silver medallist Tatjana Smith who will be looking to defend her 200m breaststroke title in the French capital.

 “It’s definitely nice to know it’s official,” she said after the announcement. “This is my second time going but it doesn’t make it any less exciting than the first time so I’m very excited.

“I’m feeling very motivated because you know you’re so close to the end – as in Paris, the thing that you’ve been working towards for so long. That definitely keeps you encouraged because you know there’s only about nine weeks left so that helps a lot.”

Others in the swimming team include the likes of SA’s most successful Olympian Chad le Clos, world championship medallist Pieter Coetzé and Commonwealth Games medallists Erin Gallagher and Kaylene Corbett.

The other sporting codes to have their teams announced were canoeing, climbing, gymnastics, surfing and wrestling.

Meanwhile, SASCOC announced the cash incentives that are up for grabs to South Africans who win medals in Paris. R400,000 will be awarded to gold medallists with R100,000 going to their coaches, R200 000 for silver medallists (with R50k for coaches) and R75 000 for bronze medals (R25k for coaches).

SA Olympic team so far:

AQUATICS

Men: Pieter Coetzé (100m, 200m backstroke), Chad le Clos (100m butterfly), Matthew Sates (100m, 200m butterfly and 200m IM)

Women: Aimee Canny (200m freestyle), Kaylene Corbett (200m breaststroke), Erin Gallagher (100m butterfly), Rebecca Meder (200m IM), Tatjana Smith (100m, 200m breaststroke), Julia Vincent (diving, 3m springboard)

ATHLETICS

Men: Luxolo Adams (200m), Stephen Mokoka (marathon), Zakhiti Nene (400m), Lythe Pillay (400m), Benjamin Richardson (200m), Akani Simbine (100m), Tshepo Tshite (1500m), Wayde van Niekerk (400m), Jovan van Vuuren (long jump), Adriaan Wildschutt (5000m, 10000m).

Women: Marione Fourie (100mH), Zeney Geldenhuys (400mH), Rogail Joseph (400mH), Cian Oldknow (marathon), Prudence Sekgodiso (800m), Gerda Steyn (marathon), Irvette van Zyl (marathon)

CANOEING

Men: Andrew Birkett (kayak sprint), Hamish Lovemore (kayak sprint)

Women: Tiffany Koch (kayak sprint), Esti Olivier (kayak sprint)

Management: Nkosi Mzolo (coach), Janet Simpkins (manager)

GYMNASTICS

Women: Caitlin Rooskrantz (artistic)

Management: Ilse Pelser (coach)

SPORT CLIMBING

Men: Joshua Bruyns (speed climbing), Mel Janse van Rensburg (lead & boulder)

Women: Aniya Holder (speed climbing), Lauren Mukheiber (lead & boulder)

Management: Dean Bruyns (manager), John-David Muller (official coach)

SURFING

Men: Matthew McGillivray, Jordy Smith

Women: Sarah Ann Baum

Management: Christopher Bond (coach), Rezar De Nicker (coach, manager)

WRESTLING

Men: Steyn de Lange (92kg), Marias Hattingh (training partner, 79kg)

Management: Jan Roets (coach)

 

Akani takes sixth SA 100m title as women’s 400m hurdles produces two Olympic qualifiers

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The women’s 400m hurdles provided one of the highlights of day two of the SA Athletics Championships in Pietermaritzburg on Friday.

Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Zeney Geldenhuys was pushed all the way to the final hurdle by Rogail Joseph, just pulling away in the final metres to take her fourth national title in a time of 54.72 seconds with Joseph second in 54.84. Both times were below the automatic qualification mark for the Olympic Games later this year in Paris.

Claiming the bronze medal was 16-year-old star Tumi Ramokgopa who set a new South African youth record with a time of 57.04.

Geldenhuys said afterwards she was pleased to be pushed by her young rivals.

“You can’t always just go into a race and think I’m going to run and win by 100 metres so it is very exciting to know that there are girls pushing me because without them it’s difficult to run great times,” she said.

“I’m ecstatic [about the time] and I’m truly blessed to know I could run the Olympic qualifying time… but from here it’s much harder work to get the times done because if I want to run a final [at the Olympics] it need to be a 53.”

Joseph reckoned: “It was a really tough race and I’m really proud of myself because it’s the first time I was so close to the winner at SA Seniors, so I can see I’m on the right road and I’m so excited to see what more is in store for me.”

Meanwhile, Lindukuhle Gora was thrilled to get his hands on a first senior national title, winning the men’s 400m hurdles in 49.45 seconds.

Also claiming her first senior title was teenage sprinter Viwe Jingqi. The 19-year-old blitzed to the women’s 100m title in a time of 11.23, just one hundredth of a second off her PB.

“Fantastic! I thought it went great. I don’t know how to explain it but as you can see, the smile and how I’m talking… everything went well,” said a thrilled Jingqi afterwards.

While it was a first for Jingqi, it was title number six for Akani Simbine in the men’s 100m. The SA record holder powered to victory in a time of 10.01 seconds, holding off teenagers Bayanda Walaza (10.27) and Bradley Nkoana (10.29) for the gold.

“I’m just also happy to retain my title,” said Simbine, who admitted he was targeting a sub-10 second time but was unsure of the cool, slightly breezy conditions.

“For us it was trying to finish off on a sub-10 but I’m happy with a 10.01 – I can’t complain about that, I can’t complain about finishing the race healthy and now that sets me up for my next race in China next week,” he said.

Earlier in the day, 400m world record holder Wayde van Niekerk ran the opening race of his campaign of the SA Championships, finishing first in his 200m heat in a time of 20.57 seconds.

“It was comfortable. It felt a little bit rusty in some areas of the race, but I think once you get your legs exposed to that, those things start freeing up and the fact that I ran quite a solid time, feeling the way I did, hopefully the next two will be better,” he said afterwards.

“I think [nerves are] always there. Nerves are something that’s part of the game I guess. My wife told me – if I feel this way, how do the rest fo the guys feel? So I’m trying to use that mentally in my head. But we all have a bit of nerves, a bit of restlessness because we want to do well and be competitive so it’s very much part of the game. It’s really just about managing it and putting your best foot forward.

In other events on Friday, Cheswill Johnson claimed the men’s long jump title with a leap of 8.22m, while Brian Raats cleared 2.25m to take gold in the men’s high jump on countback.

 

Tebogo dominates again as SA mixed relay team set new national record

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By Karien Jonckheere

Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo once again provided the highlight of the night at the third and final ASA Grand Prix meet in Johannesburg on Wednesday.

The 20-year-old blitzed to the fastest time in the world this year over 200m, powering to the finish in 19.94 seconds to eclipse the early-season time of 20.17 seconds that Jamaican Oblique Seville ran in Kingston 12 days ago.

“After we ran that 44.2 [in the 400m last week] we didn’t have enough time to train, so we were just resting and then just warming up and stretching. Producing this 19.9, it shows that everything is falling into the right track,” said Tebogo afterwards.

Lining up in the same race was two-time Olympic 100m finalist Akani Simbine, making a rare appearance over the longer distance. While he finished second to Tebogo in 20.32 seconds, he was pleased with the form he showed in a race he seldom runs.

“I’m happy with the performance, happy with the race. Very conservative actually, but happy with how I ran the 200,” said Simbine afterwards. “I didn’t actually have any expectations because I haven’t run a 200 in years.

“So for me it was just come out here and just run, something which to us actually was just a training run, and see where we’re at with training… So happy with it, happy where I finished, healthy and looking forward to the season.”

In Simbine’s absence in the shorter sprint, long jumper Cheswill Johnson ran the fastest 100m time of the night, winning the first final in a time of 10.18 seconds while Tamzin Thomas won the women’s 100m in 11.48.

The South African team of Gardeo Isaacs, Amy Naude, Zakithi Nene and Zeney Geldenhuis ensured the evening ended off on a high, setting a new national record in the mixed 4x400m relay. The quartet finished in a time of 3:14.97 to get the better of Kenya and Botswana and improve on the previous national record that was set by the SA team at the African Games in Ghana just over a week ago.

“This was tricky because I also had a 400 earlier [in the pre-programme] that I also ran but… it was a good team effort, national record, qualify for world relays, then it’s a good day,” said Nene afterwards.

“It feels great, the 4×400 mixed is still a new event for us,” added Geldenhuis. “Last week in Ghana they broke the SA record and then tonight we broke it again. We’re very happy about that because we’re taking it step by step and the team gets stronger.”

Munyai keeps eyes on the prize as he targets third Olympics

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By Karien Jonckheere

Clarence Munyai may not have the Olympic qualifying time for the 200m in the bag just yet, but he’s confident it will come.

The former national champion ran 20.91 seconds for fourth place at the second ASA Grand Prix meet in Pretoria this week, some way off the 20.16 required, but the season has just started. And with 50 per cent of athletes qualifying for Paris through world rankings, Munyai finds himself safely within that quota for now.

“Yes, I still have to get the qualifying time, but I’m confident I’ll get it,” reckoned Munyai.

“One thing about sport that I like is you always have the next week, like you have a competition this week, then you have a competition next week. So obviously some competitions you do well, some you don’t do too well, and obviously as an athlete you learn how to pick yourself up and go to the next one,” he added.

It’s hard to believe that at just 26 years old, Munyai is gunning for his third Olympic Games, having burst onto the scene as a teenager and setting the current SA 200m record of 19.68 seconds when he had just turned 20.

For the past three years, he’s trained alongside SA 100m record holder Akani Simbine, under the watchful eye of coach Werner Prinsloo.

“He’s a really nice training partner,” Munyai said of Simbine.

“I learned a lot from him. I have my strengths, and he has his strengths, we kind of rub off on each other, and it’s nice to run with someone like him because you push each other in sessions.

“At the end of the day, that one big goal that we’re all working towards, I feel like as an athlete you need someone that has that motivation as well. I feel like it’s really good and it pushes both of us.”

Being confident in his training, Munyai can look ahead to what he would like to achieve in Paris later this year. He reached the semifinal of the 200m at the last Olympics in Tokyo but is now ready for the next step.

“Making the final, and obviously in the final anything can happen because we’ll have eight lanes and then everyone has the same opportunity. So it’s about putting the race together and executing, then everything should go to plan,” he said.

With several months to go before then, however, he pointed out: “Everything’s on track. I feel really strong, I feel fast in training, and obviously now it’s just about putting it together in a race, so that’s what I’m looking forward to. I just want to race and am looking forward to all the races now.”

Road To Redemption: Simbine sets sights on Paris

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By Karien Jonckheere

After shaking off a disappointing end to last season, which had started so promisingly but ended with a false start in the 100m semifinal and a dropped baton at the World Athletics Championships, Akani Simbine is only looking forward.

Forward to next month’s National Championships and then on to the Olympic Games in Paris. He’s now a married man, feeling settled and revved up for the season ahead.

“I’m feeling good, it’s been a good start to the year, a good start to the season. I’m healthy, training is going really well, I had my first off-season race with the 150 which went well, and everything is just going according to plan right now,” he explained, referring to the new SA record he set in the rarely run 150m at the Simbine Curro Classic Shootout in Pretoria last month.

“That was very important because I think coming from my last race, which was the DQ at world champs, it was a confidence booster and also getting that tick in your mind saying that OK, you know what, I can still do this, I’ve still got that competitive edge, I’m still hungry to compete,” added the 30-year-old.

“We’re building up to SAs now, making sure that I run well there, retain my title there, and get on to the rest of the year. I’m looking forward to it, confident for the season, confident for the year.”

Simbine has described the Olympic year ahead as one in which he and his coach Werner Prinsloo are taking care of unfinished business.

“Paris is a race and a place where I’m looking forward to running. For Coach and I it’s also kind of like a redemption road where we had everything ticked off last year and the false start happened. So now this year it’s about coming back and just keeping on working and doing everything that we need to do to make sure we’re ready to race.

“It’s just another race at the end of the day… It’s just the title that changes and I need to get that in my head and to accept that and enjoy it and give my all,” added the two-time Olympic finalist who has earned a reputation as one of the gentlemen of the sport.

Perhaps what keeps him so grounded is his mission to give back through his company Back Sports, which aims to provide a platform for younger athletes to excel – not only in the sport itself by broadcasting their exploits but also by getting them involved behind the scenes in the TV production.

“We’re giving the students an opportunity to learn production, to learn how to shoot, how to do media and just giving them that skill… So we pay them a salary, and then you’re allowed to go train, go to championships.

“For us it’s literally empowering them in those ways, just changing lives, and just making a small impact where we can. We’ve been blessed with an opportunity with Supersport schools to spread our wings and shoot the sporting events and empower more kids and have more reach. I think we have teams all over the country and that’s close to 100 kids that we are changing lives for, that’s 100 families that we’re changing lives for and impacting. And for me, if we’re doing that, I’m happy.”