It’s not easy to stay on brief for a style story when interviewing South African sprinter Akani Simbine – the fastest man in 2025 and the first ever to run a sub 10-second 100m for 11 consecutive years.
We had to touch on it. Akani was talking to me straight out of a gym session, shortly after breaking Usain Bolt’s decade-long record by clocking 9.90 seconds as he crossed the line at the Botswana Golden Grand Prix. It was also the day before this Joburg-born 31-year-old was leaving to start racing across the world (he’s sitting out the national championships this year), and yet he made space in his schedule for an interview which was anything but rushed. Commenting on the stat, he says he didn’t even know it existed until he “found out from social media that this was something. It’s the people with the stats. They keep up to date with these things.”
Wondering about his mindset, completing a race in the time it takes me to change my mind, he says, “Training becomes so repetitive. Our training is broken up into different segments, so when you get [onto the start line] you just have to put everything together.”
Akani has been a Richard Mille brand ambassador since he was 24 years old, and he is proud to wear their racing machine weighing only 32 grams – strap included – on his wrist. “For me, wearing the RM 67-02 ‘Wayde Van Niekerk’ is crazy. It’s so expensive, but at the same time, it gives me the feeling these guys believe in me and want to work with me. But also, the one I race in is special because it has South African branding, the South African flag, and my name [on it]. I am proudly South African, and I love promoting South Africa. The fact that I can do it through a luxury watch deemed one of the most sought-after brands in the watch industry is a winner.”
Much like the little things that make the watch movement reliable and precise, world-class sprinters like Akani rely on the smallest things to improve and give them that extra speed. “They’re always using little things to make the watch stand out, to make it different. And that, for me, is where we get together.”
The RM 67-02 was developed using the lightest materials for optimum comfort, aiming to achieve technical sophistication and dynamic lines, all synergising with Akani’s approach to his wardrobe. “I don’t have a particular look. I go with how I feel that day. I can be very formal, and I know how to put a suit together and I actually love that. But at the same time, I can be very casual. I like trying new and different things and putting together outfits that are just not deemed normal. I don’t know how to explain it. It’s just different things by different artists or creators that I enjoy putting on because I think I understand the creativity behind that.”
The RM 67-02’s extra flat design fits perfectly under a shirt sleeve. After all, wearing a bulkier world timer means adjustments must be made to the suit!
Akani describes “the guy” who makes a lot of his “stuff” as “very unorthodox”, which he enjoys because it develops a character. “It builds you in expressing yourself differently. Before 2018, I used to wear only black and white. I would never experiment with colours.” Probing deeper into that inspiration, Akani agrees that Richard Mille is it. “I started with the brand in 2017, and one night, when I got the watch and other watches, I tried to match the watch. Richard Mille is always out there in different colours and that also gives character. It’s like the watch has a life of its own and I have to match it.”
“The Richard Mille watch I race in is special because it has the South African flag and my name.”
All credit can’t go only to the Swiss watchmaking brand though? “Yeah, for sure. I think it’s just being authentically African, being able to show the world Africa, and mixing it with luxury. When people depict Africa, it’s more tribal, but I’ve found the synergy between luxury and making it African at the same time.”
While stylish comfort is essential for this athlete, he’s not prescriptive in what he wears. “I’m game for anything. You can literally give me any fabric – if it looks really good, I’ll wear it. I’m not too fussy about that.”
It’s a fitting way to sum up how Akani moves through the world – with humility, intention, and quiet confidence. Whether chasing gold in a stadium or choosing an outfit that mirrors the creativity of a watch dial, he does it all with calm precision and an effortless sense of self. He’s not one to fuss, but everything about him – from his stride to his style – is thought through. As he puts it, “I need to look right and make sense in my head.”
That mindset, combined with his loyalty to his roots and pride in representing South Africa on a global stage, makes Akani more than the fastest man in the world right now. He’s a study in consistency, a man who lets his actions – and occasionally, his wrist – do the talking. In just 9.90 seconds, he made history. But it’s the way he carries that moment into every facet of his life that truly sets him apart.
