Simbini, Samaai set for Olympic medal hunt
As the Rio 2016 games draw closer, Japanese appliance giant, Panasonic is proud to be sponsoring two of South Africa’s medal prospects, Akani Simbine, SA 100m men's record holder and Ruswahl Samaai, African Long Jump Champion.
Both athletes are part of Team South Africa at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
After many intense years of rigorous training and competing internationally, these athletes are looking to cement themselves into history with their Olympic debut in Rio.
“We are proud
of what these fine young athletes have achieved so far.” says Judy Huang,
Product Marketer, Panasonic SA, “In many ways, Akani and Ruswahl embody what we
stand for here at Panasonic, and we know they will make South Africa and us
proud.”
Simbine and Samaai have been competing globally as part of their preparation for Rio, embodying the spirit of their recent partnership with Panasonic, focusing on continuous development in order to make themselves better.
Simbine recently won a race at Istvan Gyulai Memorial in Hungary where he ran the 100M men's event and in the process set a new personal best and South African record (9.89sec).
That time rocketed him to fifth in the world rankings and ultimately pushes him into contention for an Olympic medal at the Rio Games.
“I feel great and motivated going into the Olympics. This run has just proved to me that I can do what I always believed I could do and now I'm aiming for more and always aiming to be better” said Simbine.
The athletes, along with the rest of the team leave for Rio on Wednesday, where they will join their Team South Africa countrymen in Rio following a training camp in Gemona, Italy.