Akani Simbine Shocks Kishane Thompson to Win Shanghai Diamond League 100m as Omanyala Stumbles

Photo|| Liam Blackwell

Akani Simbine Shocks Kishane Thompson to Win Shanghai Diamond League 100m as Omanyala Stumbles

Mark Kinyanjui 17:00 - 03.05.2025

Simbine maintained his good start to the 2025 outdoor season, edging out Kishane Thompson by a mere second, as Ferdinand Omanyala finished dead last in the 100m Shangai Diamond League clash.

South Africa’s Akani Simbine kept his fine start to the outdoor season going after he just edged out Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson to clinch the 100 meter title at the Shanghai Diamond League meeting in China on Saturday afternoon.

Running in lane five, Simbine exploded out of the blocks with a reaction time of 0.156 seconds and held his composure down the stretch to clock 9.98 seconds — just one-hundredth of a second ahead of Thompson, who registered a season's best of 9.99 seconds in lane four.

This marks Simbine’s second sub-10 second performance of the year, solidifying his return to form and further asserting himself as one of the men to watch as the season builds toward the World Championships.

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Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo, widely seen as one of the future stars of the sport, was third in 10.03 seconds — also a season’s best — as he continues to adapt to doubling in the 100m and 200m disciplines.

Cameroon’s Emmanuel Eseme also impressed, finishing fourth with a personal season best of 10.07, just ahead of 2019 world champion Christian Coleman of the United States, who clocked 10.13 and failed to make a late push for the podium.

Jamaica’s Rohan Watson (10.18), Great Britain’s Jeremiah Azu (10.19), and China’s Xie Zhenye (10.23, equaling his season best) rounded out the top eight.

Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala, who came into the race with high expectations, struggled to find his rhythm and finished ninth with a time of 10.25 seconds, despite a quick reaction time of 0.146. It was a disappointing outing for the African record holder, who will look to rebound quickly in upcoming meets.

Simbine’s victory in Shanghai is his latest display of consistency and composure under pressure, and with global championship events looming, the South African sprint veteran is clearly intent on remaining among the world’s elite.

More to follow...

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