South Africa’s fastest man Akani Simbine had to dodge security personnel wanting to throw him out of Green Point stadium while training this week. 

Simbine, owner of the 9.89sec SA 100m record, is in Cape Town for the final Liquid Telecom Athletix Grand Prix meet in nearby Paarl on Thursday afternoon. 

But his training on the track on Tuesday didn’t go as planned. 

“They told us we couldn’t train there because we don’t have permission,” Simbine said on Wednesday.

“We called the guy who said we had permission, but they said he couldn’t give permission. We tried to train on the grass, but we got chased off, and then we moved to the cricket field.

“Between all of this I got my session done,” said the sprinter. 

“It’s just disappointing you don’t let a national athlete train. My concern is what happens to the people who train here permanently.”

Simbine, on track to win a rare sprint medal for SA at the Commonwealth Games in Australia next month, is using a new training regime aimed at ensuring he gets faster as the season progresses. 

In the previous two seasons Simbine opened up with sub-10-second performances, while this year he went 10.05. 

Simbine said his decision to change had come after a discussion with Usain Bolt at the Monaco Diamond League meet last year. 

“Bolt said he and coach [Glen] Mills had spoken about me, they felt we need to find a balance between starting well and building [through the season].”

Simbine said the change-around was a different feel. “I feel different this season because I’ve changed my whole training regime. 

“We’re trying to make sure I finish the season on a high and I go through the circuit moving upward. 

“I feel in really good shape, but we want to get in better shape.”​