Akani Simbine opens up on mental health struggles after back-to-back fourth place finishes at Rio & Tokyo Olympics

Simbine fell into a very dark dungeon after failing to medal at at the delayed 2020 Toyko Olympics

South African sprinting icon Akani Simbine has candidly shared the mental health challenges he endured following his failure to secure a medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. 

Known for consistently finishing just shy of the podium at major global events, Simbine’s experience in Tokyo left a deep emotional impact, one that led him down a path of depression.

Simbine, who has been competing at the highest level of athletics for over a decade, has often found himself among the best in the world, but never quite at the very top. 

His notable performances include a fifth-place finish in the 100 metres at the 2017 World Championships, and fourth in the same event in 2019. At both the 2019 World Championships and the Tokyo Olympics, he agonisingly finished fourth, missing out on bronze to Canadian sprinter Andre De Grasse.

In the men's 100 metres at the Paris 2024 Olympics, Simbine again just missed a podium place, finishing fourth but setting a new South African record with a time of 9.82 seconds. However, he was able to claim his long-awaited Olympic silver medal as part of South Africa's 4x100 metres relay team on 9 August 2024.

Despite his eventual success in Paris, the mental toll of consistently falling short in individual events was profound. Now a mental health ambassador for the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Simbine has opened up about the depression he faced after Tokyo 2020.

"I’ve been depressed and didn’t want to speak about it myself," Simbine admitted in an interview with Olympics.com. "On the outside I seemed OK, but I was actually really struggling inside. I think I can help other athletes in a similar situation."

Simbine's openness about his experience is driven by a desire to help others in the sporting community who might be facing similar struggles. 

"If they listen to my story and what I went through, they will think, ‘Akani has been on the circuit for so long, but he still went through this, and he's able to talk about it and share his story'. It might give them confidence to talk about their issues and deal with them. That’s my goal as a mental health ambassador."

Reflecting on his experience following the Tokyo Olympics, Simbine recounted the dark period he faced after finishing fourth in the 100 metres final.

 "I fell into a depression right after. I wasn’t seeing a therapist at the time, and I didn’t have anything else to protect me from the disappointment of my performance," he revealed.

Simbine explained that the first few weeks after the Games were particularly difficult. "The first few weeks, I was very down and out, and I didn’t want to accept that I was depressed. My parents told me to go and talk to someone to get myself out of it, so I ended up seeing a therapist. I then had to acknowledge that I was experiencing depression and I wasn’t OK."

The sprinter also reflected on the intense pressure he had placed on himself during that period, linking his self-worth entirely to his athletic achievements.

 "Looking back on it now, I had really taken myself to an extreme level. My identity was Akani the athlete and nothing else. Then, when something didn’t go my way, I didn’t feel good about myself and had negative thoughts."

It was only after taking the year 2022 to step back and focus on his mental wellbeing that Simbine was able to find peace.

 " I now know that athletics doesn’t define me, and I have my own identity outside the sport. I look back on that year and I’m very grateful."

As he moves forward, both as a competitor and a mental health advocate, Akani Simbine hopes his journey will inspire others to seek help when needed and understand that setbacks, no matter how difficult, do not define a person’s worth.