Akani Simbine ran the second fastest 100m of 2021, as he set a new South African and African record of 9.84 seconds on Tuesday evening.
The 27-year-old took out American veterans Mike Rodgers and Justin Gatlin at the Istvan Gyulai Memorial in Szekesfehervar, Hungary, sending a warning to his Olympic rivals with the Tokyo Games just two weeks away.
After lowering Nigerian Olusoji Fasuba’s 9.85s set in May 2006, he says: “This gives me a lot of confidence.”
Meanwhile, 400m world-record holder Wayde van Niekerk pulled out of his race at the meet with a back complaint, as he struggles to get up to peak fitness for Tokyo.
He tweeted: “Hey Dreamers! I am still well.
Hey Dreamers! I am still well 👍🏽. I had discomfort in my lower back in my warm-up before the race last night so Coach and my team decided to pull me out of the race as it is not worth risking anything so close to #Tokyo2020. Thanks to @GyulaiMemorial and for everyone’s concern🙏🏽
— Wayde van Niekerk (@WaydeDreamer) July 7, 2021
“I had discomfort in my lower back in my warm-up before the race last night so Coach and my team decided to pull me out of the race as it is not worth risking anything so close to #Tokyo2020.”