South Africa’s men’s 4x100m relay campaign was thrown into turmoil on Saturday after Shaun Maswanganyi was impeded by Italy’s Olympic champion Lamont Marcell Jacobs in the opening strides of their World Athletics Championships semi-final.
Maswanganyi lost his rhythm and threw up his arms in frustration as the baton never made it past the first leg. Team management lodged an immediate appeal for obstruction.
On Saturday evening, World Athletics confirmed that South Africa will be given a timed relay on Sunday morning at 10:33 local time.
If they clock 38.34 or better, the 8th-placed qualifying mark, they will be added as a ninth team in the final and placed in lane one. The quartet of Maswanganyi, Sinesipho Dambile, Bradley Nkoana and Akani Simbine will contest the run, once again starting from lane six as in the heats.
Ghana won the disrupted semi-final in 38.07 seconds, with the Netherlands, China, Italy, Great Britain & Northern Ireland, Japan, and Australia advancing to Sunday’s 14:20 final.
The men’s 4x100m semi-final at the 2025 World Athletics Championships turned into a stumbling block for South Africa on Saturday, as their race ended before it truly began.
Opening runner Shaun Maswanganyi was clipped out of rhythm in the first strides, tangling with Italy’s Olympic champion Lamont Marcell Jacobs.
Like a sprinter yanked off his starting blocks, Maswanganyi’s momentum vanished, arms flung skyward in frustration as South Africa’s baton dream lay stranded on the track.
Team SA wasted no time in lodging an appeal, arguing obstruction cost them a fair shot at Sunday’s final.
The jury of appeal will now decide if South Africa’s relay hopes can be revived and reinstated into the title chase.
On the stopwatch, Ghana powered through in 38.07 seconds to claim the heat, followed by the Netherlands, China, Italy, Great Britain & Northern Ireland, Japan, and Australia each booking their lanes for the showdown.
Men’s 4x100m, heats: South Africa (Shaun Maswanganyi, Sinesipho Dambile, Bradley Nkoana and Akani Simbine) finished 6th in 37.61 but appealed immediately after the race, with Maswanganyi having been impeded by the Italians at the first changeover and not getting the baton to Dambile.
The men’s 4x100m final is set for Sunday at 14:20 (SA time).
There was brighter running news for South Africa in the men’s 4x400m relay, where their quartet of (Gardeo Isaacs, Udeme Okon, Leendert Koekemoer and Lythe Pilay) won their heat.
South Africa win the first Men's 4x400m heat 🇿🇦🔥
They get it done in a time of 2:58.81 ⏱️
📺 Stream #WCHTokyo25 on DStv: https://t.co/rM90YyQxaw pic.twitter.com/vhnEmL8l44
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) September 20, 2025
They blazed home first in their semi-final heat in 2:58, qualifying fourth overall for Sunday’s final at 13:20 as fourth fastest, with pre-event favourites the USA missing out.
Team South Africa will therefore look to both relay teams to secure their first medal at the World Championships in Tokyo.
