Latest news with #ZakithiNene
IOL News
a day ago
- Sport
- IOL News
South African sprinters excel at Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi as Nene leads charge
The in-form Zakithi Nene (centre) became only the second South Afrioca runner to dip below 44 seconds in the 400m, after world record holder Wayde van Niekerk, at the Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi. Image: BackpagePix With all the attention focused of Zakithi Nene's blistering world lead of 43.76 to take gold in the 400m at at the Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi on Saturday, there were also podium finishes for Bayanda Walaza in the 100m and Shaun Maswanganyi in the men's 200m contest. The achievements marked another stellar weekend for South African sprinters. Nene was the best of the SA athletes on the international track and field circuit this weekend. He became the second SA athlete to run under 44 seconds over the one-lap distance after world record holder Wayde van Niekerk. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad Loading Nene finished well clear of Nigerian athlete Chidi Okezie, who took second place in 44.98. All eyes will be on the one-lap star as he heads for the Rome Diamond League meeting, to see if he can repeat the feat. Junior record holder Walaza also impressed in the men's 100m race in Nairobi, though he had to settle for the runner-up spot. He got off to a good start but the athletes were called back by the starter, and though there were no disqualifications for a false start, they were made to go again and this time Walaza looked a little hesitant out of the blocks the second time. Bayanda Walaza, South Africa's teenage sprint sensation, took silver in the 100m at the Kip Keino Classic at the weekend. Image: BackpagePix
IOL News
3 days ago
- Sport
- IOL News
Zakithi Nene beats personal best time, clocking 43. 76 in dominant 400m at Kip Keino Classic
The in-form Zakithi Nene (centre) is the headline act in the 400m at the Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi, where he broke his PB on Saturday. | BackpagePix South Africa's one-lap star Zakithi Nene stormed to a world leading time this year of 43.76 seconds, smashing his personal best, in winning the 400m at the Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi on Saturday afternoon. The sprint sensation finally delivered on the threat to run a sub-44-second time in an individual race, having already done so in the 4X400m relay earlier this year. He also quickly put behind him last week's Rabat Diamond League disappointment, when he was pipped to the line by American Jacory Patterson. Before Saturday's race, the American had also held the world-leading time this year. There would be no close finish this time as Nene flew out of the blocks in typical fashion and only grew stronger as the race wore on. He finished more than a second ahead of Nigeria's Africa Games champion Chidi Okezie (44.98), while local runner Zablon Ekwam finished in third (45.01). Nene's coach, Victor Vaz, had predicted a "comfortable win" for his charge in the build-up to the race that is part of the World Athletics Continental tour. Yet even he could not not have imagined such an emphatic response to last weekend's disappointment.
IOL News
3 days ago
- Sport
- IOL News
Zakithi Nene aiming to bounce back at the Kip Keino Classic after Diamond League blip
The in-form Zakithi Nene (centre) is the headline act in the 400m at the Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi. Image: BackpagePix SA's 400m star Zakithi Nene will be confident of setting the record straight when he lines up for the one-lap event at the Kip Keino Classic at Ulinzi Sports Complex in Nairobi, Kenya on Saturday. The in-form 27-year-old sprinter took second position at last weekend's Diamond League meeting in Rabat, in 44.46 seconds. He looked on track for the win but was chased down on the home straight by American Jacory Patterson, who clocked 44.37. Olympic champion Quincy Hall took third in 44.90. Nene set a personal best time of 44.22 at the SA championships in Potchefstroom in April. He will headline another strong field on Saturday that will include Africa Games champion Chidi Okezie and Australia's Cooper Sherman and Portugal's Joao Coelho. Former national 400m champion Zablon Ekwam, who boasts a personal best of 44.69, is among the local runners who could pose an outside threat to the South African in their backyard, however. Nene's performances so far this year have deservedly earned him top billing in Kenya, including his starring role in SA's 4X400m gold at the recent World Relays in Guangzhou, China with a world lead 2:57.50. He ran the anchor leg in a team that featured Gardeo Isaacs and youngsters Udeme Okon and Leenderts Koekemore, clocking a split time of 43.63. That feat ensured all eyes were on Nene in Rabat to see if he could run another sub-44-second time. Unfortunately, he was not able to deliver. Nene's coach, Victor Vaz, feels conditions may have played a part, pointing out that all the runners ran slower than expected, even race winner Patterson. The American's 43.9 is the world-leading time this year. 'My impression was that conditions weren't that favourable for personal bests. I was obviously expecting Zak to run another 44.2 in the hope that he goes sub-44 in the future,' Vaz said. 'In my opinion, he didn't finish the race correctly. I think he started over-striding and leaning. He sensed the guy was coming for him in the last 10 metres and that slowed him down to the point where the guy could catch him just before the line. 'I thought he should have run through the line, instead of starting to dip a little bit early.' Vaz feels his sprinter is in the best shape of his life and is tipping him to rebound fairly quickly in Kenya. He is worried about the toll the recent travel is taking out on the track star, though. 'Statistically he has no opposition (at the Kip Keino Classic). Nigerian Okezie and Australian Sherman are the two closest guys, but they're still very far from his time. So I don't want to be overconfident and put a curse on the poor chap but I think, all things being right, he should comfortably win the race.
IOL News
25-05-2025
- Sport
- IOL News
Can SA champ Zakithi Nene break 43-second barrier at Rabat Diamond League?
Zakithi Nene Zakithi Nene (centre) reached the 400m Olympic semi-finals in Paris last year. Photo: BackpagePix Image: BackpagePix When Wayde van Niekerk set his astonishing 400m world record at the 2016 Rio Olympics, he had just turned 24. Van Niekerk was 24 years and 30 days old on August 14, the day of the final, when he rewrote the history books from lane eight in that unforgettable run of 43.03 seconds at the Olympic Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The man whose record he broke, American legend Michael Johnson, was all of 31 years and 11 months old when he ran 43.18 at the 1999 world championships in Sevilla, Spain. Now there is another South African trying to force his way into the 43-second world: Zakithi Nene. The national champion produced a new personal best of 44.22 at the SA championships in Potchefstroom in April to announce his arrival as a truly world-class athlete. And, having turned 27 in April, Nene seems to have hit the sweet spot between Van Niekerk and Johnson when they set their world records. Nene has been a solid campaigner on the SA circuit for years, but after building up all that experience, he appears to have taken the next step to becoming a medal contender at the world championships in Tokyo in September. He produced a stunning anchor lap to bring home the gold for the 4x400m SA team at the World Relays in China a few weeks ago, with his split registering 43.64 to set a relay world lead time. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ But he is also grabbing the attention in the individual race. Having progressed steadily from 45.03 in 2021 to 44.74 in 2022 and 2023, Nene's 2024 best was 44.80. From there, he has shot through to a 44.22 this year. So, there is no reason why he cannot push ahead into the 43-second realm at today's Diamond League meeting in Rabat, Morocco (live on DStv channel 208 at 8pm SA time). Nene will be part of a star-studded field, where the favourite undoubtedly will be Olympic champion Quincy Hall. This will be the American star's first real meet of 2025, with all the top athletes only gradually getting their seasons going now, in order to be at their peak for the September world championships. The 26-year-old ran a personal best time of 43.40 to clinch the Paris Olympic gold medal, edging out British athlete Matthew Hudson-Smith (43.44), with Zambia's Muzala Samukonga (43.74) claiming the bronze. Nene crashed out in the semi-finals in Paris, clocking a disappointing 45.06 to finish sixth – SA teammate Lythe Pillay reached the same round, and ended seventh in 45.24 in his race. So, can Nene be dragged to a sub-44-second time in Rabat? You would think so, judging from the strong field assembled. Apart from Hall, the fastest man in the world this year, American Jacory Patterson, will line up in Morocco as well. The 25-year-old is a world indoor championship bronze medallist in the 400m short track event, and won gold in the 4x400m relay at the same event in China in March. Patterson ran 43.98 in Miami at the start of May, and will want to prove that such a performance was no fluke when he squares off with Hall and Nene. Canadian Christopher Morales Williams (44.05) and Botswana's Bayapo Ndori (44.10) boast quicker personal bests than Nene, while American Bryce Deadmon is equal to the South African on 44.22.
The Citizen
16-05-2025
- Sport
- The Citizen
Brakpan teen helps power SA to gold at World Athletics Relays
Leendert Koekemoer's maturity, which helped South Africa win the men's 4x400m gold medal at the World Athletics (WA) Relays Guangzhou 25 in China, was replaced by youthful exuberance when the national relay teams touched down at OR Tambo International Airport on Wednesday. Brakpan Herald reports that the 400m sensation and his teammates were welcomed with fanfare after the men's 4×100m and 4x400m teams clinched gold medals. The women's 4×400m team earned bronze, as South Africa finished at the top of the medal standings. The 18-year-old will jet off to Tokyo for the WA Championships in September after the teams qualified for the competition. 🇿🇦 Welcome Home, Champions! 🇿🇦 South Africa beams with pride as we welcome our incredible athletes back home! #TeamSA #ForMyCountry — Team South Africa (@OfficialTeamRSA) May 16, 2025 Koekemoer shone in the final with a blistering third leg. Botswana had a slight advantage over South Africa when he received the baton. He found his footing, running the second-fastest split of 44:23 to finish strongly, giving anchor Zakithi Nene the straightforward job of securing the gold. Watch him whip, watch him Nene 🙌 All the glory went to 🇿🇦 in the men's 4x400m with Zakithi Nene running a blistering 43.64 anchor leg to secure a world-leading 2:57.50 at #WorldRelays 🚀 — World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) May 11, 2025 'It was fantastic. I did not go to the relays to run a fast time. I just wanted to give the baton to Zakithi first. The time came by itself. I did not realise it until the end,' he said. Sharing his experience as the youngest member of the team, the Dalview, Brakpan, resident thanked his seniors for taking him in and showing him the ropes. 'I had a wonderful experience. It was my first time out of the country. All the senior guys helped me. They invited me in. They helped me with this and that. It was a pleasant experience.' South Africa on another level during #WorldRelays 🤯 Men's 4x100m 🥇 Men's 4x400m 🥇 Women's 4×400 🥉 — World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) May 14, 2025 Koekemoer first showed glimpses of his potential two years ago when he won the national U18 400m title in 46:38. However, injuries affected his progress last year. He returned strongly this year, starting with a blistering 45:96 at the Wildeklawer TUT Top 14 in January, dipping under 46 seconds for the first time. He has since broken the 46-second barrier three more times, including breaking the SA U20 record when he ran 45:03 at the ASA senior track and field championships in Potchefstroom last month, smashing Riaan Dempers' 31-year-old record. Growing up in Brakpan, the Helpmekaar Kollege matriculant never envisaged he would enjoy so much success in the sport he loves this early in his career. 'I always wanted to run, but did not know I could run this well. If not for my parents, coach Lindi du Plessis and training partner Lythe Pillay, I would not be here. I want to keep my head in the game. The 400m is a very mental race. You must know the lactic will come at the end,' Koekemoer said. Pillay, a former national 400m champion from Brentwood Park, is a role model for Koekemoer, who described Pillay's significant influence on his career. 'I started training with Lythe when I was in Grade 8. I have been with him my whole career. I trained every 400m session with him. If not for him pushing me, I would not be here. He is a role model and someone you can look up to.'
