Simbine’s 9.90 Highlights Record-Breaking Day at 2025 Botswana Golden Grand Prix
The 2025 Botswana Golden Grand Prix, held Saturday, April 12 in Gaborone, delivered a string of standout performances across sprint, middle-distance, and field events. From Akani Simbine’s world-leading 9.90 in the men’s 100m to Dalilah Muhammad’s dominant hurdles win, the Continental Tour Gold meet showcased top-tier global talent and rising African stars. Here's a breakdown of the key moments.
Men’s 100 Metres:
Akani Simbine of South Africa clocked a world-leading 9.90 to take victory ahead of African record holder Ferdinand Omanyala, who ran a season’s best of 10.00. Retshdisitswe Mlenga, also from South Africa, placed third in 10.15.
Simbine: “Never stop believing in yourself... I’ve always pushed and always believed.”
Men’s 200 Metres:
Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo opened his season over 200m with a comfortable 20.23 win into a -1.6 m/s headwind. Tebogo eased up in the final 20 metres, racing in front of his home crowd. Luxolo Adams of South Africa took second in 20.42.
Sinesipho Dambile won the B race in a faster 20.01 despite a -1.8 m/s headwind.
Simbine: “Africa has great potential to host big events. Why can’t we take a one-hour flight and compete right here?”
Men’s 400 Metres:
Bayapo Ndori continued his dominant season with a 44.35 win, the second-fastest time globally this year. Only Chris Bailey (USA) has gone faster in 2025, with 44.34 last week in Kingston.
Men’s Shot Put:
Italy’s Zane Weir, the 2023 European indoor champion, won his outdoor season debut with a 20.83m throw. Training partner Leonardo Fabbri placed second (20.64m), while South Africa’s Kyle Blignaut was third (20.32m).
Women’s 400 Metres Hurdles:
Dalilah Muhammad led wire-to-wire to win in 53.81, her second race of the season. She had finished second to Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone in Kingston. Muhammad has announced she will retire at the end of the season.
Cassandra Tate (55.59) and Zeney Geldenhuys (56.10) rounded out the top three, with Gianna Woodruff in fourth (56.74).
Men’s 800 Metres:
Kethobogile Haingura scored an upset with a 1:44.18 win, beating Olympic finalist Tshepiso Maselela, who ran a season’s best of 1:44.77.
Women’s 800 Metres:
Oratile Nowe of Botswana set a personal best of 1:58.86 to win on home soil, improving on her previous best set just eight days earlier. Sarah Moraa of Kenya, the world U20 champion, finished second in 1:59.46.
Women’s 400 Metres:
Egypt’s Basant Hemida broke the national record with a 50.72 win. Miranda Coetzee (51.10), Shirley Nekhubui (51.28), and Olympic champion Courtney Okolo (51.85) followed. Hemida now holds Egyptian records in the 100m, 200m, and 400m (indoor and outdoor).
Hannah Van Niekerk won the B race in 52.72.
Men’s 400 Metres Hurdles:
At just 17 years old, South Africa’s Njabulo Mbathe clocked a lifetime best of 49.06 to win, edging Kenya’s Wiseman Mukhobe by 0.01 seconds.
Women’s Javelin Throw:
Jo Ane Du Plessis of South Africa took the win with a 61.23m throw. Andrea Zelezna followed closely with 60.88m.
