WATCH: Pillay clocks world lead at CGA Champs
He clocked 44.32, also the fastest time of his career, to win the senior men's 400m title.
Benoni’s Lythe Pillay stormed to the second-fastest 400m time of his career and a championship record when he claimed the senior men’s one-lap title at the CGA Track and Field Championships at UJ Athletics Stadium on March 14.
Two weeks after opening his season with 45.97 seconds at a league meeting at Germiston Stadium, the Brentwood Park resident produced a scintillating performance, clocking a world-leading and season’s best 44.33 seconds. The time fell just two-hundredths of a second shy of his lifetime best of 44.31, which he set in Pietermaritzburg in 2024.
@benonicitytimes Olympian Lythe Pillay reacts after clocking the second fastest 400m time of his career when he won the senior men’s title at the CGA track and field championships.
In a race that also featured hurdler Sabelo Dlamini, Pillay was laser-focused from the off. The former world U20 champion exploded out of the blocks with intent, seizing the lead on the bend heading into the back straight.
By the 200m mark the gap had already begun to stretch, and he powered into the home straight well clear of the chasing pack before surging across the line to record the fastest time in the world over the distance this year.
“I’m feeling good, I knew the body was in shape. I had been peaking up quite nicely at training. I knew it was just a matter of putting all the pieces together and just getting all the right parts to click,” Pillay said.
Though he enjoyed a successful 2025 campaign, winning the 400m title at the World University Games and claiming a bronze medal with South Africa’s men’s team in the 4x400m relay at the World Athletics (WA) Championships Tokyo 2025, much of the past year was spent rediscovering his rhythm after a leg injury.
While it’s still early in the season and the 44.32 mark will unlikely stay longer as a world lead, the Arbor Primary alumnus — coached by Lindy du Plessis at Boksburg Stadium — believes he is in a strong place both physically and mentally and ready to show the world his best.
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“Last year I pretty much spent most of the season trying to rediscover my race after my injury. I think having had that high at the World Champs and keeping that momentum up until now, I do think I’ve come with a lot more confidence, a lot more self-certainty and this year also marks a new chapter for me — all will be revealed soon.
“I’m in a good place both physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally. I’m very keen to show the world what I can do.”
Reflecting on his dominant run, the 23-year-old explained that his focus was not on the clock but on experimenting with his race execution.
“I just didn’t go balls to the wall in this race. I was trying to play a bit around with the new or slightly updated race form. So it was pretty much trial and error to see if I can go out quick and still maintain and have the legs to the end.
“Going in I didn’t think of time. I just wanted to run as fast as I could but given the weather and the wind on the back straight, I just switched off my mind to the pressure of putting in time and just said ‘go execute and see what happens’,” Pillay said.
With the season now gathering momentum, Pillay will turn his attention to the ASA Senior Track and Field Championships in Stellenbosch next month, before lining up for the WA Relays in Gaborone in May.
Also Read: Pillay bags 400m gold in Germany
