Nene will enter the blocks in the one-lap final in Tokyo on Thursday.
Zakithi Nene remained conservative about his chances on Tuesday, after cruising into the men’s 400m final on day four of the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.
Competing in the first semifinal race in his specialist event, Nene had no trouble progressing automatically by winning his heat in 44.20 seconds.
He did not go full throttle, and though Collen Kebinatshipi of Botswana set a world lead of 43.61 to win the second heat, and three other men also ran quicker than Nene, the South African will be among the favourites for the podium.
He remains second quickest in the world this season, with the personal best of 43.76 he set earlier this year, and the SA champion will be targeting a medal when he turns out in the final on Thursday (3.10pm SA time).
“We’re here now. Survive and advance is the name of the game. I survived and advanced and I’ve got one more round left,” Nene said.
Pillay misses out
Meanwhile, his countryman Lythe Pillay missed out on a place in the 400m final, finishing sixth in his semifinal in 44.82.
Pillay was honest about his performance, admitting he hadn’t been overly confident of reaching the final against a quality line-up in the one-lap sprint.
“The field was very stacked, so I knew it would have needed a personal best (PB) to go through,” Pillay said.
“I do accept that my body hasn’t gone through what it needs to go through to get a PB, but my whole aim was trying to stay consistent, being present and still giving it some fight.”
In action on Wednesday, on day five of the track and field showpiece, middle-distance runner Tshepo Tshite will compete in the men’s 1 500m final (3.20pm).
Though Tshite has a slim chance of stepping on the podium, he will be targeting the SA team’s first medal in the Japanese capital.
