Big breakthrough for Ballito sprint ace
With adjusted ranking points, it is expected he will finish the year as the 9th or 10th best 400m runner in the world.
Ballito’s 400m sprint star and Olympian, Zakithi Nene (24), recently ran a blistering personal best of 44.74 to grab fourth place in the Zurich Diamond League.
It is the highpoint of a tumultuous season that saw the track star hamstrung by poor Athletics South Africa (ASA) administration and an unfortunately timed Covid-positive diagnosis.
The Covid-19 result kept him out of the Commonwealth Games completely, while a visa problem caused by ASA saw him arrive only on the day of the 2022 World Championships, leaving him little chance to prepare and compete properly.
His Diamond League time would have been good enough for a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games and fourth place at the world champs, both of which would have carried significant financial and ranking incentives.
Nevertheless, Zak put the disappointment behind him and readied his body for Zurich, where another world-class field was assembled.
“After I got the nod for the final, I wasn’t really race fit because I had not properly competed in almost six weeks. But I was in a good frame of mind and had been hitting low numbers in training, so was hoping to run something fast,” he said.
The Diamond League is perhaps the third biggest test in international athletics competition after the Olympic Games and World Championships and can do wonders for a young athlete’s reputation.
Zak had previously competed in the Paris and Oslo legs of the eight-part series, so he was comfortable with the level and able to focus on his own race.
“My main goal was to run the standard for next year’s World Championships in Budapest, because this is basically the end of the season so I wanted to get qualifying sorted.”
The time to beat was 45 flat, so Zak has secured his place in next year’s event, solidifying his place among the truly elite of world athletics.
With adjusted ranking points, it is expected he will finish the year as the 9th or 10th best 400m runner in the world.
Even at that level of competition, the support from ASA is limited and all of Zak’s normal meets – the bread and butter for athletes – come at his own cost.
He has some sponsors, but any extra help will make a huge difference.
Contact Zak via his website at zakithinene.com.
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