Akani Simbine won the 100m gold at the FNB Botswana Golden Grand Prix

Akani Simbine, who recently earned a bronze in the 60m at the World Indoor Championships, made an impressive return to the 100m event at the FNB Botswana Golden Grand Prix at the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting held in Gaborone.

Facing pressure from Kenya’s African record-holder Ferdinand Omanyala, Akani Simbine showcased a powerful finish, pulling ahead in the final moments. The South African recorded a time of 9.90 sec despite a -1.4m/s headwind, marking the fastest 100m time in the world this year. Ferdinand Omanyala finished second in 10.00 sec.

The women’s 100m was claimed by South Africa’s 17-year-old Hanna Hope Vermaak, who matched the runner-up Viwe Jingqi with a time of 11.44 sec (-0.2m/s).

Former world record holder in the 400m hurdles, Dalilah Muhammad, continued her farewell season with a commanding victory. The 2019 world champion finished with a time of 53.81 sec, outpacing her American rival Cassandra Tate, who clocked 55.59 sec. In a closely contested men’s race, South Africa’s Njabulo Mbatha emerged victorious with a time of 49.06 sec.

In the 400m event, Bayapo Ndori, a teammate of Olympic silver medalist Tebogo, delivered a strong performance. He surged ahead on the final curve and maintained his lead, finishing in 44.35 sec, marking the second-fastest time of his career, winning by three-tenths of a second over South Africa’s Zakithi Nene.

The women’s 400m was claimed by Egypt’s Bassant Hemida, who set a national record of 50.77 sec. Competing in her first outdoor 400m since 2021 after concentrating on shorter sprints, the multiple national champion in the 100m and 200m improved her outdoor one-lap personal best by over two seconds, finishing ahead of South Africa’s Miranda Coetzee, who recorded 51.10 sec.

In the 800m, Botswana’s Oratile Nowe made history in front of her home crowd. The 24-year-old was neck-and-neck with Kenya’s world U20 champion Sarah Moraa at the bell, but the teenager could not keep pace in the second lap. After a quick glance behind her on the back straight, Nowe accelerated towards the finish line, breaking the 1:59 barrier for the first time and setting a new national record of 1:58.96 min.

Another home victory was secured in the men’s 800m, where Kethobogile Haingura outpaced his compatriot Tshepiso Masalela, achieving a Botswana 1-2 finish. Following a personal best of 1:43.88 min in Johannesburg a month prior, Haingura finished this race in 1:44.18 min, narrowly defeating Olympic finalist Masalela, who finished in 1:44.77 min.