'It'll be out of my character to join the bandwagon' - South African star sprinter reveals why he isn't social media loud yet a consistent force

Legendary South African sprinter Akani Simbine has revealed why he doesn't do any thrash talking or social media tantrums like his peers, who see it as a means to create or strengthen their rivalry.

The 30-year-old has been one of the world's most consistent sprinters in the past decade and was a 100m finalist at the Paris Olympics where he narrowly missed out on a podium placement with a fourth-place finish clocking a South African record of 9.82s.

Putting the disappointment behind, Simbine ran the race of his life as he anchored his country's 4x100m relay squad to the silver medal - his first at the Olympics.

Speaking with the World Athletics on the current set of sprinters and the online tantrums they throw around, Simbine opened up why he has never been a part of it as it's out of his character.

"Sprinting is a physical thing, something that we do, it's not more talking," said the 2018 Commonwealth champion.

"I can talk and say I'm gonna beat you, I'm gonna do this or do that, but at the end of the day what matters is what happens on the track," he continued.

"I see the guys doing that, you know I see them going through their thrash talking, their social media spells and I watch it. It's entertaining at the end of the day, it's entertainment you know? But I feel like for me it would be out of me, it would be so out of character for me to join that bandwagon and thrash talk other athletes."

Simbine also disclosed how much he respects his peers and he lets his work do the talking rather than proclaiming it on social media.

"I have a lot of respect for everyone who lines up, a ton of respect because I know what you put in to be here. I think my performances and my actual work that I put in speak louder than what I would do on social media," he concluded.