It lit a spark in my heart' - Bradly Nkaona reveals text message from

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The teenager led South Africa’s 4x100m relay team to silver in Paris.

South African sprint teen sensation Bradly Nkaona is tipped to rule the world after his heroics in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games earned his nation a silver in the 4x100m relays team.

Akani Simbine is South Africa’s de facto godfather in 100m but the 2018 Commonwealth Games 100m champion has already seen enough in the 19-year-old who has been described as a generational talent.

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Nkaona has said his motivation to become a global hero is partly because of the text message he received from Simbine in 2022, after he almost upset the 31-year-old at the national championships in Cape Town aged 17.

Nkoana finished just 0.03seconds behind the veteran, becoming the youngest male athlete to finish on the podium in the men’s senior 100m at the senior championships. While the experience of racing in a final at the senior national championships played an important part in Nkoana’s ascent, it is a text message from Simbine that would leave an indelible mark.

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“I shocked myself when I saw the result. Did I just do that?! It was quite shocking, and I had to take a moment to let it sink in,” Nkoana told Olympics.com.

“The day afterwards, AK (Simbine) sent me a message to say congratulations and that I must keep my head down and focus on my grind. That also made me happy. It lit a spark in my heart, knowing that one of the greats has seen what I can do. He believes in me, and I should also believe in myself.”

Nkaona boasts a PB of 10.20 seconds in 100m and 20.88 seconds in 200m set in Manheim and Potchefstroom respectively.