Akani Simbine, alongside Noah Lyles and Rai Benjamin, has rejected the Grand Slam Track League.
South Africa’s Akani Simbine has joined Noah Lyles, Rai Benjamin and Co in explaining the major reason behind his decision not to sign up for Michael Johnson’s Grand Slam Track League.
Akani Simbine explained that the event only favours athletes from the US since three out of four legs of the league will be held there.
The newly-crowned world indoor 60m bronze medallist noted that travelling from South Africa to the US frequently will cost him a lot of money, adding that his coach, Werner Prinsloo does not fancy travelling that much.
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He did not overlook the fact that the prize money was good but insisted that Grand Slam Track should expand to more countries to favour athletes from all around the world, not only the US-based ones.
“It’s much travel time to America, it’s very far for us to get to America so I would rather stay on the European side and do the Chinese side because if I’m doing China then I have to go back to the state side, it’s a lot of travel and coach doesn’t want to travel that much,” Akani Simbine said in an interview with Letsrun.com.
“We just decided to stick to the normal circuit and then keep on going. It’s a big issue because it’s American-based and for us, it doesn’t make sense because we are going to have to stay in America for two months or three.
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“Who’s going to cover those costs? It’s an expense for us and we can’t cover it. If we moved around the world, it would be a great opportunity to pursue.”
Noah Lyles and Rai Benjamin had also criticized the event concerning their broadcast deal but Michael Johnson took up the challenge and has already announced several broadcast partners.
Rai Benjamin also explained that 2025 being a long season, he is not looking to compete that much in the build-up to the World Championships and that is not what Grand Slam Track offers.
Akani Simbine also touched on competing at the World Indoor Championships, revealing that he is not one of the best starters but had to show up for the challenge which luckily earned him a medal.
The 31-year-old added that the medal means so much to him and South Africa and hoped that it is a great start to his 2025 as he eyes the World Championships in Tokyo, Japan in September.
“It’s so hard man, it’s actually so difficult to go into it knowing that you have to be as aggressive, as fast and as quick in the beginning because if you don’t, the race is gone,” Akani Simbine said.
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“It’s a world medal at the end of the day and it’s a medal to my name and to me, it’s a world medal that comes from not knowing anything about this type of competition. It’s an important medal for me to have, hoping this keeps me going.”
He now shifts focus to the outdoor season where he will be targeting the two Diamond League Meetings in China, Xiamen and Suzhou before planning for what next.
