In a blanket finish, the national squad missed out on the silver medal by the narrowest of margins.
South Africa’s 4x400m relay team saved the nation’s blushes on Sunday, breaking an eight-year podium drought at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.
While the SA squad came close to securing some medals in other events, with multiple athletes reaching finals, they had to wait until the last event in which the country was represented to step on the podium at the nine-day showpiece in the Japanese capital.
Competing in wet conditions, Lythe Pillay, Udeme Okon, Wayde van Niekerk and Zakithi Nene combined well to complete the four-lap race in 2:57.83.
They finished in the same official time as the United States, who took second place, with the SA quartet edged into third position by just 0.002 (two thousands of a second).
In a blanket finish, pre-race favourites Botswana narrowly held on for gold in 2:57.76.
‘We delivered, as expected’
Nene, who finished fifth in the individual 400m final, was relieved to pick up a medal after missing out in his specialist event.
He said the entire squad had put a lot of focus on the relay in an attempt to step on the podium, with no members of the national team having achieved the feat in any discipline since 2017.
“We had our objectives for the relay and I think we delivered, as expected,” Nene said.
“The guys ran pretty well, set me up and I was glad I was able to deliver the job. I’m proud of my brothers and we’re looking forward to the journey that still lies ahead.”
