​In-form athletes Wenda Nel and Dominique Scott-Efurd will look to shift gears again on Thursday night when they compete at the fourth leg of the Diamond League series in Rome.
Nel is the second fastest woman this year in the 400m hurdles field, after clocking 54.66 at a European Permit meeting in Prague on Monday to qualify for the IAAF World Championships in London in August.
Of the eight other women in the start lists, only world champion Zuzana Hejnova of the Czech Republic, who clocked 54.50 in Eugene a couple of weeks ago, has run faster than the African champion this season.
The line-up, however, also features European champion Sara Petersen of Denmark and Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Janieve Russell of Jamaica, and Nel will face a strong challenge in the fight for podium places.
Scott-Efurd, meanwhile, will go in search of the World Championships B-standard qualifying mark of 15.22.00 in the 5 000m event, after narrowly missing out with a personal best of 15:24.60 in California last month.
The field is spearheaded by Ethiopian athlete Genzebe Dibaba, the 1 500m world record holder, and Olympic silver medallist Hellen Obiri of Kenya.

Schedule, SA athletes, Rome Diamond League (8 June, 2017):

8.03pm – Wenda Nel (400m hurdles)
9.40pm – Dominique Scott-Efurd (5 000m)

* The meeting will be broadcast live on SuperSport 4 and 9

Wenda Nel and Dominique Scott-Efurd were in top form, achieving impressive performances at the fourth leg of the Diamond League series in Rome on Thursday night.
In the women’s 400m hurdles race, Nel charged through over the last 80 metres to secure third place in 54.58, taking 0.08 off the season’s best she had set in Prague three days earlier.
Jamaican athlete Janieve Russell earned victory in 54.14, with Sara
Petersen of Denmark, the European champion, grabbing second spot in 54.35.
Nel finished well clear of Czech world champion Zuzana Hejnova who settled for fourth position.
Scott ended 13th in the women’s 5 000m race in 15:20.10, improving her personal best of 15:24.60 set earlier this year.
She dipped under the B-standard qualifier of 15:22.00 for the IAAF World Championships in London in August.
Kenyan athlete Hellen Obiri won the race in a superb time of 14:18.37.
The next leg of the Diamond League campaign will be held in Oslo, Norway on June 18.

​South African athletes shone at the Lahti Games on Friday night, with javelin thrower Sunette Viljoen, sprinter Emile Erasmus and long jumper Khotso Mokoena securing victories at the annual meeting, which formed part of Finland’s national Elite Games series.
Viljoen won with a best heave of 62.18m, more than three metres ahead of her nearest challenge, as the Olympic silver medallist opened her European campaign with a solid performance.
Erasmus took the men’s 100m dash in 10.35, edging out Zambian teenager Sydney Siame by 0.04, while Mokoena delivered a best effort of 7.86m to win the single-leap discipline 27 centimetres clear of his nearest opponent.
Claudia Heunis finished fourth in the women’s 100m hurdles race in 13.54, with Nigerian athlete Lindsay Lindley crossing the line first in 13.38.

​Sprint sensation Wayde van Niekerk delivered another superb performance on Saturday evening to smash the national 200m record at a meeting in Kingston.
The versatile speedster, who holds the 400m world record of 43.03, took the half-lap win at the Racers Grand Prix in 19.84 to break the two-year-old mark of 19.87 held by World Championships bronze medallist Anaso Jobodwana.
Van Niekerk shattered his personal best of 19.90, which he set when he won the SA title in Potchefstroom in April, by 0.06.
He finished well ahead of Commonwealth champion Rasheed Dwyer who grabbed second spot in 20.11.
Earlier, SA 100m record holder Akani Simbine took second place in 10.00 in the short dash.
Former world champion Yohan Blake of Jamaica won the race in 9.97.

​Results of the Spar Women’s Challenge 10km race in Durban on Sunday (11 June, 2017):

Open: 1 Tish Jones (KPMG) 32:58, 2 Kesa Molotsane (KPMG) 33:31, 3 Lebogang Phalula (Boxer) 33:39, 4 Elisabeth Arsedo (Nedbank) 33:48, 5 Rutendo Nyahora (Nedbank) 33:50, 6 Glenrose Xaba (Boxer) 33:56, 7 Rudo Mhonderwa (Nedbank) 34:03, 8 Nolene Conrad (KPMG) 34:07, 9 Bertha Chikanga (N/A) 34:15, 10 Mapaseka Makhanya (Olifantsfontein) 34:26
Veterans: 1 Bulelwa Simae (Nedbank) 36:54, 2 Janene Carey (Boxer) 38:56, 3 Ronel Thomas (Boxer) 39:10
Masters: 1 Judy Bird (KPMG) 39:09, 2 Grace de Oliveira (Boxer) 43:11, 3 Gail Babich (Savages) 45:21
Grandmasters: 1 Margie Saunders (Nedbank) 43:36, 2 Colleen Peens (Born2Run) 50:35, 3 Merryl Duncan (Forest Hills) 56:09
Great grandmasters: 1 Blanche Moila (Savages) 48:07, 2 Gill Tregenna (Westville) 58:09, 3 Uno Smart (Vryheid) 1:09:56
Juniors: 1 Nicole Louw (KPMG) 35:26, 2 Nicole van der Merwe (KPMG) 36:11, 3 Chery-Lee Schoeman (KPMG) 39:51

* Results courtesy of www.finishtime.co.za

​In-form athletes Luvo Manyonga and Antonio Alkana again produced impressive performances on Sunday, winning their specialist disciplines at the World Challenge in Hengelo.
Manyonga launched a best leap of 8.62m with his final attempt to win the men’s long jump, falling just three centimetres shy of his own national record.
Ruswahl Samaai, ranked second behind his compatriot in the 2017 global list, was also near his best, taking second place with a leap of 8.34m.
Former African champion Zarck Visser settled for sixth place with a 7.88m effort.
While Alkana was well outside the SA 110m hurdles record of 13.11 he clocked in Prague six days earlier, he won a tight battle in 13.47, just 0.02 ahead of French athlete Aurel Manga.
Sprinter Anaso Jobodwana finished second in the men’s 200m sprint in 20.62, taking 0.07 off his season’s best, and Carina Horn was third in the women’s 100m race in 11.35.
Jo-Ane van Dyk, a silver medallist at last year’s World Junior Championships in Bydgoszcz, finished sixth in the women’s javelin throw after producing a best heave of 54.33m.

​An eight-member track and field team has been unveiled by the SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc), as part of a 24-member South African squad for the Commonwealth Youth Games in Nassau, Bahamas next month.
At the previous edition of the Under-18 multi-sport event, in Apia in 2015, the athletics team contributed 10 of the nation’s 35 medals, raking in six gold, one silver and three bronze.
“Go and have fun, play fair and inspire more youth to take action and get involved in sport to change their lives and become better people in future through sport,” the team’s chef de mission, Patience Shikwambana, said in a statement on Tuesday.

SA athletics team, Commonwealth Youth Games, Nassau (19-23 July):

Boys: Luke Davids, Jayson Weber, Lindukuhle Gora, Adam Mayo

Girls: Caroline Mosime, Marli Viljoen, Keletso Senosi, Antoinette van der Merwe

​Sprinter Henricho Bruintjies was the best of an eight-member South African contingent at the World Challenge meeting in Turku on Tuesday evening.
Bruintjies took second place in the men’s 100m event in a season’s best 10.06, equalling the second fastest time of his career, while countryman Emile Erasmus grabbed third spot in 10.13.
The race was won by Turkish speedster Ramil Guliyev in 10.02.
Earlier, Bruintjies had won his heat in 10.16 and Erasmus was first across the line in 10.21 in his heat, as they both coasted into the final.
In the men’s 400m hurdles, Le Roux Hamman took third place in 50.38, with British athlete Jack Green clinching the win in 49.78.
Fellow hurdler Antonio Alkana was edged into third spot in the men’s 110m race over the barriers in 13.35, with Frenchman Garfield Darien charging to victory in 13.22.
Earlier, Alkana had won his heat in 13.38.
Javelin thrower Sunette Viljoen also finished third in the women’s contest with a best effort of 61.54m.
Tatsiana Khaladovich of Belarus won with a 65.03m heave.
Khotso Mokoena settled for fourth position in the men’s long jump, leaping 7.66m in the third round and repeating the distance in round five.
Serhiy Nykyforov of the Ukraine secured victory with a 7.73m jump, with the first five men completing the event within just eight centimetres in a hard-fought contest.
Sprinter Pieter Conradie was fifth in the men’s 400m dash in 46.71, well outside his season’s best, with British athlete Rabah Yousif winning in 45.81.
Claudia Heunis ended sixth in her 100m hurdles heat in 13.53, missing out on a place in the final.

​Middle-distance runner Caster Semenya lines up as the favourite in her specialist discipline on Thursday night, as she leads five South African athletes at the fifth leg of the Diamond League series in Oslo, Norway.
Semenya, the fastest woman in the world this year (1:56.61), will aim to extend her lead in the defence of her series title when she turns out in the women’s 800m race.
She faces another full-strength field, again meeting the like of Francine Niyonsaba of Burundi and Kenyan Margaret Wambui, who earned Olympic silver and bronze last season behind the SA record holder.
Eager to build on a solid season, LJ van Zyl is listed among the entries in the men’s 400m hurdles race.
Having displayed consistent form this season, Van Zyl will be eager to edge closer towards the sub-49 seconds barrier.
He goes down into the blocks alongside the likes of American Kerron Clement, the Olympic champion, Irish athlete Thomas Barr, the World Student Games champion, and Turkish star Yasmani Copello, the European champion.
Sprinter Pieter Conradie, meanwhile, makes his Diamond League debut in the men’s 400m race.
Conradie is the second-fastest man this year in the line-up, holding a 45.15 personal best, with only African champion Baboloki Thebe of Botswana (44.89) having run quicker than the SA champion this season.
Five of the eight men in the field, however, have gone under 45 seconds in their careers, and Conradie could face a baptism of fire.
Rynardt van Rensburg and Henco Uys will compete in the 800m ‘national’ race on the pre-programme.

Schedule of SA athletes at the Diamond League meeting in Oslo on Thursday (15 June, 2017):

6.23pm – 800m ‘national’ men (Rynardt van Rensburg, Henco Uys)
8.03pm – 400m men (Pieter Conradie)
9.10pm – 800m women (Caster Semenya)
9.25pm – 400m hurdles (LJ van Zyl)

​Results of SA athletes who competed at the Southern Region Championships in Harare, Zimbabwe (10-11 June, 2017):

Men

200m: 2 Luxolo Adams 20.60
800m: 2 Tshepo Tsepo 1:49.62
5 000m: 2 Thabang Mosiako 14:13.58
High jump: 1 Chris Moleya 2.13
Long jump: 2 Sefako Mokhosoa 7.03
Triple jump: 3 Sefako Mokhosoa 15.30
Shot put: 1 Jason van Rooyen 19.00
Discus throw: 1 Jason van Rooyen
Javelin throw: 1 Brendon Skinner 67.00

Women

100m (+0.7): 1 Tamzin Thomas 11.56, 2 Lente Pieterse 11.77
800m: 1 Gena Lofstrand 2:03.85, 3 Niene Muller 2:10.96
100m hurdles: 2 Nienka du Toit 15.44, 3 Nicola Schoeman 18.43
400m hurdles: 2 Belindie van der Merwe 1:00.43
High jump: 2 Julia du Plessis 1.75, 4 Marilize Higgens 1.70, 5 Geraldine King 1.70
Long jump: 1 Nienka du Toit 5.57, 3 Nicola Schoeman 5.15
Triple jump: 1 Zinzi Chabangu 13.02
Shot put: 2 Jana Steinmann 12.30, 5 Letitia Janse van Vuuren 10.06, 8 Stephanie Greyling 8.78
Discus throw: 1 Jana Steinmann 42.04, 5 Letitia Janse van Vuuren 32.52, 9 Stephanie Greyling 23.50
Javelin throw: 2 Nienka du Toit 38.60, 3 Nicola Schoeman 37.00

​Versatile athlete Caster Semenya extended her advantage in the Diamond League season race in Oslo on Thursday night, storming to another convincing win in the women’s 800m race at the fifth leg of the series.
Semenya chased down Francine Niyonsaba of Burundi to cover the two-lap distanced in 1:57.59, with Niyonsaba holding on for second place in 1:58.18.
Turning out in his first Diamond League race, Pieter Conradie ended sixth in the men’s 400m contest in 46.16.
LJ van Zyl ended seventh in the men’s 400m hurdles in 49.89, and though he struggled to put up a fight for a podium spot, Van Zyl dipped under 50 seconds for the 150th time in his career to achieve a remarkable milestone.
In the pre-programme, Rynardt van Rensburg had won a closely contested 800m ‘national’ race.
Van Rensburg led at the bell and held on to cross the line in 1:48.98, with Norwegian athlete Andreas Roth taking second place in 1:49.17.
Another South African, Henco Uys, grabbed third spot in 1:49.56.
Meanwhile, six SA athletes were included among the entries for the next leg of the Diamond League series in Stockholm, Sweden on Sunday.
Van Zyl was set to line up again in the one-lap race over the barriers, while Antonio Alkana, fresh off his recent 110m hurdles record of 13.11, was due to compete in his specialist event.
In-former Olympic silver medallist Luvo Manyonga, African champion Ruswahl Samaai and former SA record holder Khotso Mokoena were in the start lists for the men’s long jump.
Van Rensburg was again expected to turn out in a ‘national’ 800m race, closing out the SA contingent in the Swedish capital.

Schedule of SA athletes at the Diamond League meeting in Stockholm on Sunday (21 June, 2017):

4.03pm – LJ van Zyl (men’s 400m hurdles)
4.50pm – Luvo Manyonga, Ruswahl Samaai, Khotso Mokoena (men’s long jump)
5.18pm – Antonio Alkana (men’s 110m hurdles)

* The Stockholm Diamond League will be broadcast live on SuperSport 6 and 9

​Luvo Manyonga and Ruswahl Samaai secured a one-two for the SA contingent on Sunday, dominating the men’s long jump discipline at the Diamond League meeting in Stockholm.
Manyonga earned victory with a best leap of 8.36m, while Samaai took the runner-up spot with a jump of 8.29m, as the duo settled in first and second place respectively in the Diamond League season race.
Former Olympic silver medallist Khotso Mokoena finished sixth with a 7.98m attempt.
In the men’s 400m hurdles race, LJ van Zyl was lying second down the home straight but he clattered into the last hurdle and jogged across the line in eighth position in 51.42.
Fellow hurdler Antonio Alkana was scratched from the men’s 110m hurdles race after being banished from the blocks due to a false start.
National champion Pieter Conradie was in fine form in the men’s 400m B race, taking the win in 45.88.
Compatriot Rynardt van Rensburg, competing in the 800m national contest ahead of the main programme, grabbed third spot in a season’s best of 1:45.73 to achieve the ‘B’ standard qualifying mark for the World Championships in London in August.
The seventh of 14 legs in the Diamond League series will be held in Paris, France on July 1.

​Hopeful participants have 10 days remaining to enter the Old Mutual Soweto Marathon.
Registration for the annual race, which includes 10km, 21km and 42km distances, will close on June 30 or when the cap of 25 000 runners is reached.
Organisers confirmed this week that more than half the entries had been sold.
“I’m delighted with the progress thus far. It certainly goes to show you how the people love this race,” said Soweto Marathon Trust chairman Sello Khunou.
The 24th edition of the race, held through the streets of the historical township, will be held on November 5.

Wayde van Niekerk was the best of a large South African contingent in Velenje on Tuesday night, charging to a new personal best of 9.94 seconds to win the men’s 100m race at the European Classic Permit meeting.
The Olympic 400m champion bettered his previous career record of 9.98, as he edged closer towards Akani Simbine’s national best of 9.89.
Countryman Emile Erasmus grabbed second spot, crossing the line in 10.12, and former SA record holder Henricho Bruintjies was third, a further 0.02 off the pace.
Earlier at the meeting, Rikenette Steenkamp won the women’s 100m hurdles race in 13.03, narrowly missing her personal best of 13.02.
She was well ahead of Hungarian athlete Greta Kerekes who finished second in 13.47.
Tamzin Thomas won the women’s 200m sprint in 23.82, while national champion Alyssa Conley was disqualified from the half-lap contest.
In the men’s 800m event, Jacob Rozani took third place in a season’s best 1:46.33, and middle-distance specialist Dumisane Hlaselo ended eighth in the B race in 1:52.67.
Jovan van Vuuren earned third position in the men’s long jump with a best leap of 7.41m, and Dylon Cotter was fourth, just three centimetres further back.
In the women’s long jump, Lynique Prinsloo settled for fourth place with a 6.25m effort.

​Local athletes will again be chasing a strong foreign contingent on Saturday in the battle for open titles, while a race within a race will be held to determine the national champions at the SA Half-Marathon Championships in Port Elizabeth.
Kenyan athletes Edwin Koech and Sheila Chesang would be back, organisers confirmed this week, after securing victories in the men’s and women’s open races last year.
In the men’s contest this weekend, Koech was facing a powerful local line-up led by Stephen Mokoka, who spearheaded the provincial entry lists.
Mokoka won the SA title last year in 1:01:26, crossing the line 10 seconds behind Koech as the first local athlete home.
He was due to be joined at the start on Saturday by the likes of two-time former national champion Lucky Mohale and versatile track star Elroy Gelant.
Irvette van Zyl, who earned the SA crown last year in 1:11:00 after finishing just four seconds behind Chesang, was withdrawn from this weekend’s contest after battling with injuries.
In her absence, marathon runners Lebogang Phalula, Mapaseka Makhanya and Cornelia Joubert were among the favourites to lead the local charge.
The open race also featured competitors from Ethiopia and Lesotho, with some fast times on the cards.
“Fifteen of the top 20 male finishers from 2016 and 15 of the top 20 women finishers have been entered by their provinces,” said race director Mike Mbambani.
Only SA athletes competing for provincial teams would be eligible for national championship medals, but all participants were chasing a large prize purse in the open mass race, with R50 000 on offer to the first man and woman.

​Results of the SA Half-Marathon Championships in Port Elizabeth on Saturday (24 June, 2017):

Men

Open: 1 Stephen Mokoka (AGN) 1:01:21, 2 Elroy Gelant (ACNW) 1:01:30, 3 Precious Mashele (Nedbank) 1:01:56, 4 Melikhaya Frans (EPA) 1:01:58, 5 Khoarahlane Seutloali (Mr Price) 1:02:04, 6 Jobo Khatoane (Mr Price) 1:02:44, 7 Mbongeni Ngxazozo (CGA) 1:02:47, 8 Joel Mmone (ACNW) 1:03:01, 9 Kabelo Lesia (Nedbank) 1:03:02, 10 Thabang Mosiako (ACNW) 1:03:09
Veterans: 1 Simon Mpholo (CGA) 1:07:16, 2 Pastor Madlavana (BORA) 1:07:45, 3 Mzwanele Maphekula (EPA) 1:08:59
Masters: 1 Makaya Masumpa (BORA) 1:13:02, 2 Reginald Ngobese (AGN) 1:13:03, 3 Nel Mtsweni (AMPU) 1:15:21
Grandmasters: 1 Thomas Moses (BOLA) 1:27:51, 2 Don Charles (Nedbank) 1:30:16, 3 Piet Smit (BOLA) 1:30:40
Great grandmasters: 1 Pele Tshikundamalema (Nedbank) 1:40:09, 2 Tamsanqa Jusayi (EPA) 1:43:30, 3 Cilliers Swart 1:44:59
Juniors: 1 Aphelele Nkonyana (Bhizana) 1:08:26, 2 Godwin Heyns (ASWD) 1:10:08, 3 Sive Tshokotsha (Phakama) 1:11:16
Walkers: 1 Sizwe Ndebele (Tuks) 1:43:40, 2 Jonguxolo Mani (Nedbank) 2:14:57, 3 Andrew Higgs (Charlo) 2:39:05

Women

Open: 1 Cornelia Joubert (CGA) 1:12:31, 2 Mapaseka Makhanya (CGA) 1:12:43, 3 Neheng Khatala (Mr Price) 1:12:46, 4 Lebogang Phalula (CGA) 1:14:25, 5 Rutendo Nyahora (Nedbank) 1:14:58, 6 Jenet Dlamini (KZNA) 1:15:06, 7 Zintle Xiniwe (WPA) 1:15:32, 8 Chelitu Asefa (Nedbank) 1:15:39, 9 Nolene Conrad (WPA) 1:15:41, 10 Ntombesintu Mfunzi (EPA) 1:17:31
Veterans: 1 Bulelwa Simae (WPA) 1:20:02, 2 Maria Vilakazi (CGA) 1:25:21, 3 Lizzy Dlhiwayo (ANWN) 1:26:39
Masters: 1 Mariette Strauss (WPA) 1:32:18, 2 Julie Soicher (CGA) 1:32:31, 3 Christine Claasen (EPA) 1:34:03
Grandmasters: 1 Nancy Will (WPA) 1:33:02, 2 Irene Scheffer (ANWN) 1:38:16, 3 Hanlie van der Westhuizen (EPA) 1:38:38
Great grandmasters: 1 Liz Jenkerson (EPA) 2:02:21, 2 Ronelle Steyn (EPA) 2:14:45, 3 Elaine Verreynne (Crusaders) 2:56:13
Juniors: 1 Vicky Oelofse (St Albans) 1:40:24, 2 Meghan van Deventer (AVT) 1:43:08, 3 Nomakhosi Ntlizyo (EPA) 2:09:32
Walkers: 1 Leta dos Santos (Infinity) 2:39:21, 2 Susan Piron (Charlo) 2:40:46, 3 Liezl Higgs (Charlo) 2:45:16

* Results courtesy of www.championchip.co.za

​Stephen Mokoka successfully defended his title on Saturday, and Cornelia Joubert secured gold in the women’s race at the SA Half-Marathon Championships in Port Elizabeth.
Mokoka, representing Gauteng North, outclassed a quality line-up in the men’s contest by covering the 21.1km distance in 1:01:21, with versatile track specialist Elroy Gelant (Central North West) earning second place in 1:01:30.
While Precious Mashele finished third in the open race in 1:01:56, he was competing as an individual and was ineligible for championship medals, with bronze going to local Eastern Province star Melikhaya Frans, who finished fourth overall in 1:01:58.
Mashele and Frans both dipped under 1:02:00 for the first time in their careers.
“This year started very rough for me (due to injury), and this shows I’m getting better day by day,” Mokoka said.
“I ran a 61, and I didn’t expect that, so I’m very happy with the performance.”
In the women’s division, Joubert was promoted to first place overall after Ethiopian athletes Genet Abdurkadi (1:11:45) and Elisabeth Arsedo (1:12:20) were disqualified for race number violations.
Joubert crossed the line in a personal best of 1:12:31, while compatriot Mapaseka Makhanya earned the silver medal in 1:12:43, also improving her career best.
Lebogang Phalula, who was fourth overall, took third place in the national championships in 1:14:25 to wrap up a Central Gauteng clean sweep of the podium.
Phalula’s name was reflected incorrectly in the results, after she was entered as her twin sister Diana-Lebo, who did not run the race.
“The conditions were perfect,” Joubert said.
“The last two years we raced here the weather was not nice, but today it was beautiful.
“The supporters were also amazing, which gave me the power to go on.”

* Full results are available in our Results section

​Ryan Sandes made history on Sunday with a well-judged tactical approach in California, becoming the first South African athlete to win the Western States 100-mile (161km) trail race.
Working his way through the field in the early stages, Sandes found himself alone in second place at the halfway mark.
American leader Jim Walmsley, chasing a course record, was 56 minutes ahead when he reached the aid station at the 90km point, but soon afterwards he hit the wall and was swallowed up by the rest of the field.
Taking the lead with around 40km to go, Sandes held his nerve to earn a commanding win in 16:19:37, ending his three-year victory drought on the Ultra Trail World Tour.
Alex Nichols of the US, who finished second, completed the race nearly half-an-hour later in 16:48:23.
Among the women, American Camille Herron took the early lead, just three weeks after winning the 87km Comrades Marathon in KwaZulu-Natal, but she dropped out around the 30km mark.
Herron’s compatriot Cat Bradley went on to win in 19:31:30.

​Olympic track athlete Dominique Scott-Efurd delivered a superb performance on Sunday to finish fifth at the BAA 10km race in Boston.
Making a rare appearance on the road, the US-based athlete obliterated her nine-year-old personal best by nearly three minutes, completing the race in 32:22.
Her result lifted Scott-Efurd to fifth place in the all-time South African rankings.
Joan Chelimo won the women’s race in 31:24, and fellow Kenyan Daniel Chebii defended his title in the men’s contest in 27:57.

​South African sprinters were in top shape on Wednesday evening, with Wayde van Niekerk and Clarence Munyai setting world best times in the 300m event at the World Challenge meeting in Ostrava.
Van Niekerk completed the race in 30.81, bettering the global mark of 30.85 set by Michael Johnson in Pretoria in March 2000, as well as his own national best of 31.03 set in Kingston in June last year.
He added the unofficial world best to his 400m world record of 43.03.
Former African 400m champion Isaac Makwala of Botswana finished second in 31.44 and junior star Munyai took third position in 31.61, setting a world best in the Under-20 division.
In other disciplines in Ostrava, Rikenette Steenkamp set a personal best of 12.99 to finish second in the women’s 100m hurdles race, which was won by Pamela Dutkiewicz of Germany in 12.72.
Steenkamp made history as the second SA woman to run under 13 seconds in her specialist event.
Alyssa Conley also took second place in the women’s 200m race in 23.03, with Marie-Josee Ta Lou of the Ivory Coast earning a comfortable win in 22.44.
National record holder Antonio Alkana ended fourth in the men’s 110m hurdles in 13.37, crossing the line 0.28 behind French winner Garfield Darien, and Jacob Rozani was seventh in the men’s 1 000m battle in 2:20.25, with Kenyan Nicholas Kipkoech snatching victory in 2:18.51.