Akani Simbine and Marioné Fourie will carry the South African flag into the next Diamond League meet in Rome on Thursday night.Simbine, who finished sixth and fifth in his first two Diamond League competitions in China, takes on Olympic champion Noah Lyles of the US; Kenyan Ferdinand Omanyala, who is in good form with one Diamond League win under his belt, and Italy’s Tokyo 2020 gold medallist Marcell Jacobs. Other notable competitors in the line-up are Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo and Briton Jeremiah Azu. American Jordan Anthony has the fastest season’s best at 9.91sec, followed by Omanyala (9.94), Lyles (9.95), Simbine (9.98) and Jamaican Ackeem Blake (9.99). Reigning Commonwealth Games champion Omanyala and Simbine, the predecessor from 2018, are on track to renew their rivalry at Glasgow 2026, with the Kenyan leading their personal tally 9-7 after finishing ahead of the South African veteran twice this season so far. #XiamenDL men's 100m (+0.2)9.94🇰🇪Ferdinand Omanyala (SB)10.00🇿🇦Gift Leotlela10.03🇺🇸Trayvon Bromell10.03🇺🇸Kenny Bednarek10.04🇿🇦Akani Simbine10.06🇦🇺Lachlan Kennedy10.08🇺🇸Christian Coleman (SB)10.10🇧🇼Letsile Tebogo (SB)pic.twitter.com/HzUyXjBPKB— Travis Miller (@travismillerx13) May 23, 2026