Reuters
Beijing, August 26: Wayde van Niekerk ran the sixth fastest 400 metres of all time to beat a stellar field and become the first South African to win a World Championship sprint title here Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Britain’s Mo Farah regained his balance after stumbling and almost falling to the track in the heats to book his spot in the final of the men’s 5,000 metres. Farah is looking to do the double thrice in the 10,000 and 5,000 metres and if he achieves that, he will be the first athlete to achieve this unique feat.
The 23-year-old van Niekerk, went hard from the start and held off reigning champion La Shawn Merritt of the United States down the home straight to claim the title in 43.48 seconds. A personal best of 43.65 was worth no better than silver for Merritt, who stayed on the South African’s shoulder around the final bend but could not find enough gas in the last 50 metres to overhaul him.
The South African collapsed onto the track exhausted at the end of the race and was taken straight off for medical treatment. Olympic champion Kirani James of Grenada finished third to claim bronze in 43.78s, his best run of the year, ensuring the top three ran under 44 seconds for the first time at a World Championships final.
“It’s crazy. We’re warriors. We’re animals. The 400 is never easy. We’ll rise to the occasion. I love this. I love this sport,” said Merritt. “I ran well, it wasn’t enough for the gold tonight (Wednesday), but the winning time was a great one and I can’t complain. Got the silver and can go home with some hardware.”
In the 5,000 metres heats, Farah just managed to stay on his feet after being clipped by another runner. The Briton nearly tumbled over but recovered to qualify second fastest overall, just behind Ethiopia’s junior World Champion Yomif Kejelcha. The 18-year-old Kejelcha crossed the line first in 13 minutes 19.38 seconds, with a relieved Farah just 0.06 seconds in arrears.
“I tripped, somebody nearly took me down, just caught my leg,” Farah said in a trackside interview at the Bird’s Nest Stadium here. “It happens, I have such a long stride, so often people catch my leg. That was good to get the heats out of the way, it was nerve-wracking.”