South African 400m star Zakithi Nene prepares for London Diamond League showdown

SA’s 400m star Zakithi Nene returns to the track at Saturday’s London Diamond League meeting ready to build on his status as the fastest one-lap runner in the world this year against tough opposition.

Nene, whose time of 43.76 seconds is the world lead for 2025, will take comfort in the fact that none of his challengers who will line up in the starters’ blocks at the London Stadium have come close to that time this year, with season's best times hovering around the mid-44s.

Home favourite and Paris Olympics silver medallist Matthew Hudson-Smith could be among Nene’s strongest rivals.

Home favourite

He is in good form after his win at the recent Eugene Diamond League in the US, in a time of 44.10. That field included US 400m runner Jacory Patterson, who pipped Nene to the Rabat Diamond League title in a nail-biting finish.

The jet-heeled Nene, fresh from a break in competition after a busy start to the season, has been based at a high-performance centre in Switzerland in the week leading up to the London event, according to his coach, Victor Vaz.

While all eyes will be on the 27-year-old South African flyer to see if he can dip below 44 seconds again, Vaz feels the win would be more beneficial to Nene in the build-up to the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo in September.

“My personal view is that I’d be looking for a win, not a time,” Vaz told Independent Media Sport exclusively from his Durban base. “I don’t care what his time is.

“It’s a world-class field that he’s up against, he’s up against the very best. I think the only one that’s missing is (US Olympic champion) Quincy Hall.

“I’m looking for a win, and I hope he can win but the time becomes somewhat irrelevant. I’d love for him to run a 43 again, but I think it’s a bit ambitious. I would prefer that he keeps his 43s for the world championships.”

Nene, who won gold in 4X400m relay at the World Relays in China earlier this year, stormed to the world lead over 400m at the Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi, Kenya on May 31. He became only the second South African athlete, after world record holder Wayde van Niekerk, to break the 44-second barrier.

Finishing strong

“All athletes benefit from that confidence that a win gives them, particularly when you’re beating the world’s best. That means you are the world’s best, and he’s currently has the world lead so he’s theoretically the best so far,” Vaz emphasised. “That would win would give him the confidence he needs, with a couple of Diamond Leagues after that.

“The critical aspect of his preparation is how well he does in the Diamond Leagues that follow London. And I’m hoping that at some stage he’ll show those 43s again. Because he’s not going to medal at the world championships with a 44, it has to be a 43.

“Now we can say that he can run mid-43s, whereas in the past we’ve been chasing those times. With that knowledge we can alter the training so that he can progress to even a more aggressive 43, because if we don’t push the envelope then it’s never going to come.”

The two of the four remaining Diamond League events after London that will feature the men’s 400m are Brussels and Zurich at the end of August.