Disaster for Team South Africa’s 4x100m relay quartet

South Africa’s hopes of ending the 2026 Commonwealth Games athletics programme with a medal were dashed after the men’s 4x100m relay team was disqualified following the final in Glasgow.

Team SA, comprising Mvuyo Moss, Cheswill Johnson, Bradley Nkoana and Akani Simbine, had looked in superb form earlier in the day, winning their semi-final in 38.30 seconds to qualify fastest for the final and head into the medal race as one of the favourites.

Disappointment

However, things unravelled in the evening final.

The quartet struggled to reproduce their semi-final performance and crossed the line in fifth place in a race won by Australia in 38.07 seconds.

The disappointment deepened moments later when South Africa were disqualified, officially ending any hopes of a podium finish.

The exact reason for the disqualification was not immediately confirmed, although it appeared as if one of the runners stepped outside his lane.

For veteran Akani Simbine, it marked a bitter conclusion to the Games, with the experienced sprinter unable to add another Commonwealth relay medal to his collection after Team SA’s promising challenge came to an unfortunate end.

Heading into Sunday’s final day of competition, Team SA had won 28 medals, made up of seven golds, 11 silvers and 10 bronzes.

That was good enough for 11th place in the overall medal standings.

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