By Razeen Gutta
Akani Simbine won bronze in the 60m at the World Indoor Championships while Prudence Sekgodiso broke her own SA record in the 800m.
Both athletes are now aiming to bring home medals from the World Championships in Tokyo this September.
South Africa’s track stars Prudence Sekgodiso and Akani Simbine are off to a flying start in 2025 and are now focused on making an impact at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo in September.
The two athletes made a big impression at the World Indoor Championships in China over the weekend, both returning home with strong results.
Simbine, who is 31 years old, ran a time of 6.53 seconds in the men’s 60m final. It matched his personal best and earned him third place, as well as his first major global individual medal.
“My coach and I decided to do indoors for the first time this season, but for us it was more a case of trying to figure something out with my start,” he said after the race.
“So we went into the World Championships saying ‘we’ll just see what happens and figure it out round by round’. We didn’t have any expectations because there are people who are 60m specialists.
“But it went really well and I came back with my first global individual medal, which is really great. It doesn’t describe my career because there are still more medals I want to get and more things I want to achieve, but this is a great confidence booster for me and my team.”
Sekgodiso, 23, was even more dominant in her event. She ran 1:58.40 in the women’s 800m final — the fastest indoor time in the world so far this year and a new South African short track record.
“On the outdoor circuit this year I think I will do even better,” Sekgodiso said as she looked ahead to Tokyo.
“The plan is to run 1:55 by the end of this year, so now I’m going back to my training and I think everything will come together.”
Both athletes are now hoping to carry this momentum into the outdoor season as they work toward their ultimate goal — winning medals at the Tokyo championships later this year.
Pictured above: Akani Simbine
Image: @akanisimbine
AloJapan.com