Kishane Thompson narrowly lost to Akani Simbine in the Shanghai Diamond League 100 meter dash on Saturday afternoon in what was his first race of the outdoor season.
Olympic 100m silver medalist Kishane Thompson has explained why he is not too upset with his narrow loss to Akani Simbine in the 2025 Shanghai Diamond League classic on Saturday.
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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But Thompson, running his first 100m since the Paris Olympics, made it clear that he's taking the loss in stride.
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“I came to win in the beginning of the season and I am happy with the result,” Thompson said after the race.
“I have not been racing since Paris last year and I need the competition for positioning for the season."
Rather than dwell on the defeat, the Jamaican sprinter is treating the race as a learning moment. “I know what I need to work on after this race and I just need to move on quickly. Just focusing on executing perfectly and the same for the rest of the season,” he added.
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“I would not say too much at this moment for the target — too early for the season — but after the race I can easily tell what I need to further work on and definitely we can do better and better.”
In stark contrast, Simbine, despite winning, expressed frustration over his performance.
Simbine unhappy despite win
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“Another win. I’m not happy with the race, but taking the win is good,” he said, visibly unsatisfied with his start.
“I’m not happy with the start; it is just frustrating that I did not get it right today, but I was at least able to make up for that mistake and get the win.”
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With his eyes already on the next challenges — the World Relays, a stop in Atlanta, and the Diamond League meet in Morocco — Simbine is showing signs of the high standards he holds himself to.
While Simbine focuses on fine-tuning his start, Thompson will be aiming to sharpen his overall execution. And if Shanghai is any indication, both men are far from their peaks — but already right in the mix.