Sprinters from South Africa had productive weekends at the Diamond League competitions, demonstrating their abilities in the events held in Lausanne and Silesia. Among the participants who achieved success were Sineliso Dambile, Griffin Leotlela, Akani Simbine, and Zakithi Nene.
Athletics
Commonwealth Champion Sineliso Dambile won silver in the men's 200 meters race at the Diamond League meet in Lausanne. He finished with a time of 19.98 seconds, losing to Lesotho Tebogo from Botswana, who ran the distance in 19.87 seconds.
The Commonwealth Champion lowered his result below 20 seconds for the fourth time this season and secured his fifth podium finish in the Diamond League. This strengthened his position in the 200-meter ranking ahead of the series final, which will take place in Brussels next month. Dambile noted that he really enjoyed participating in Lausanne, despite not training intensely after the Commonwealth Games.
The momentum continued on Sunday at the competition in Silesia. Leotlela and Simbine both advanced to the final of the men's 100 meters race after impressive semi-finals. Leotlela clocked a time of 9.92 seconds in the semi-final, taking second place behind Obilik Seville, having previously set a season's best of 9.91 seconds. In the final, he ran 9.95 seconds, finishing fifth.
Simbine, who also set a season's best in the semi-final, finished seventh with a time of 9.96 seconds. Seville took the title in Silesia by running 9.83 seconds, while American athlete Kenneth Bednarck won silver with a time of 9.87 seconds, and his compatriot Christian Coleman came third with 9.93 seconds. Nevertheless, the performances of Leotlela and Simbine highlighted the depth of South Africa's sprinting squad, as both broke the 10-second barrier in the Diamond League final.
Concluding South Africa's medal tally in Silesia, Nene won bronze in the men's 400 meters race, running 44.37 seconds. In the same event, Botswana champion Kollen Kebinatshipi set a meet record by running 43.59 seconds, and the second place was taken by American Ray Benjamin with a time of 43.83 seconds. These results concluded a strong weekend for the South African sprinters, where Dambile's consistency in the 200 meters was complemented by three sub-10-second results from Leotlela and Simbine in Silesia, as well as Nene's podium finish in the 400 meters.