Nel fails to qualify for Games but wins back her SA title
Although she failed to qualify for the SA Olympic Games, Wenda Nel showed she is still good enough to beat her two younger challengers when she won back her SA title in the 400m hurdles.
Wenda Nel was 0.18s too slow to qualify in the 400m-hurdles for the Tokyo Games, but she is not fazed about it as she ran her best race in three years at the past weekend’s SA Championship.
The Tuks-hurdler won her heat on Friday morning in 55.58s. The race was a dress rehearsal for Saturday’s final, where she beat her two young challengers with a time of 55:60 to regain her SA title.
The young challengers were former double junior world champion, Zeney van der Walt (second in 56,45) and Taylon Bieldt third in 56.78s. The Olympic qualifying standard is 55.40s.
It was a given that one of the three will win the gold medal, with Van der Walt the defending South African women’s 400m-hurdles champion, while Nel has eight national titles to her name. Bieldt has beaten them both this season.
For now, Nel is not thinking about titles. What mattered was that she managed to dip under 56 seconds in the 400m-hurdles. The last time she did so was during the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games where she won the bronze medal. At that Games she ran 54.61 in the heats and 54.96s in the final.
According to Nel, her aim at the weekend’s SA Champs was to try and qualify for the Games.
“I want to make the most of every racing opportunity, but hurdling is unpredictable. You can run the perfect race, but it also takes only one mistake to miss out on one’s goal. I think I might have been slightly over eager. After the ninth hurdle, I decided to shorten my strides, thinking it will enable me to ‘attack’ the last hurdle. In hindsight, I should not have done so.
According to Nel. the positive she can take from the race is that she really felt good afterwards.
Being 32 means Nel is not taking anything for granted.
“There is a revival in the women’s 400m-hurdles racing. Anyone can win at any time. Knowing that I need to be at my best is what gets my adrenaline pumping,” she explained.
Do you have more information about the story?
Please send us an email to editorial@rekord.co.za or phone us on 083 625 4114.
For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord’s websites: Rekord East
For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram
