Zakithi Nene makes first Olympic semi-final [WATCH]
Umhlanga's track champion Zakithi Nene gears up for the men's 4x400m heats tomorrow.
Ex-Ballito resident Zakithi Nene (26) of Umhlanga has had a bittersweet time at the Olympics so far, making his first semi-final in the men’s 400m race on Monday.
He is now putting all his focus on the men’s 4x400m relay team race, which kicks-off in the heat stage tomorrow (Friday) morning.
In the men’s 400m race, Nene first ran on Sunday evening in the heat stage, from which three athletes automatically qualified for the semi-finals.
His time of 45.01 was just two hundredths of a second off third place, leaving him in fourth and needing to run in the repechage (second chance rounds where all athletes have another opportunity to qualify) round on Monday.
Photo: Cecilia van Bers.
He needed to finish in the top two in order to qualify for the semis and did not disappoint.
Nene improved his time to 44.81 and cruised through in first position ahead of Botswana’s Leungo Scotch.
That set up a first Olympic semi-final against some big-hitters in the sport, including eventual silver medallist Matthew Hudson-Smith and Michael Norman.
Such was the quality of the race that Nene would have had to run a personal best to make the final, which he was unable to do.
It is nevertheless a marked improvement on his first Olympic appearance in Tokyo and he will be hoping to go one better in Los Angeles in 2028.
Make sure to cheer on Nene in the 4x400m relay race in the heat stage tomorrow morning.
They face a straight shootout at 11.05am, with the best four teams going straight to the final on Saturday at 9pm.
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