Wayde holds his fire for the final

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - AUGUST 13: Wayde van Niekerk of South Africa in the semi final of the mens 400m during the evening session on Day 8 Athletics of the 2016 Rio Olympics at Olympic Stadium on August 13, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Roger Sedres/Gallo Images)

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - AUGUST 13: Wayde van Niekerk of South Africa in the semi final of the mens 400m during the evening session on Day 8 Athletics of the 2016 Rio Olympics at Olympic Stadium on August 13, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Roger Sedres/Gallo Images)

Published Aug 14, 2016

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He didn’t break out into more than a jog, but South Africa’s world champion Wayde van Niekerk served notice that he means business in the hunt for 400m gold at the Rio Olympics.

Van Niekerk was the most impressive of the top 400m runners, even though he only went through as the fifth fastest for Sunday night’s final (3am SA time on Monday) at the Joao Havelange Olympic Stadium in 44.45.

The likes of Van Niekerk, defending Olympic champion Kirani James of Grenada and America’s 2008 gold medallist LaShawn Merritt were like prized fighters in a gladiatorial arena, with everyone trying to show they’re in top shape heading into the final.

James came out firing in the first semi-final in a head-to-head duel with Merritt, clocking an impressive 44.02, which is the second fastest time in the world this year – behind Merritt’s 43.97 – to keep the American at bay, with Merritt coming second in 44.21.

Next up was Van Niekerk, who made his usual quick start but utilised a measured approach in the first 200m. He went into the lead on the final bend, but with automatic qualification to the final secured with a top-two finish, the South African didn’t exert himself much as he was the runner-up in 44.45 to Trinidad and Tobago’s Machel Cedenio (44.39).

Grenadas’s Bralon Taplin was victorious in the third semi-final in 44.44, while Botswana’s Karabo Sibanda also advanced to the final after a third-place finish in James’ semi with 44.47.

But it was Van Niekerk who hardly had to push himself to go through to the final, and that was also the case in the first-round heats.

James and Merritt went hard at each other in their semi-final, and with the pair so closely matched with Van Niekerk, any slight advantage ahead for the final will be crucial – in this case, a fresher Van Niekerk will have much more in reserve than his main rivals in the race for that Olympic gold.

The 24-year-old from Bloemfontein, though, will have to be at his best to win the final, as his best time this year is 44.11, well shy of his South African and African record of 43.48 – the fourth-fastest time in history, which he achieved in winning the world title in Beijing last August.

Meanwhile, there was disappointment in other events for Team South Africa in the Saturday night track session, as Carina Horn and Rynardt van Rensburg were unable to progress to the final of the 100m and 800m respectively, while Stephen Mokoka came in well down the field in the 10 000m final.

Horn would’ve been hopeful of reaching the final as perhaps one of the two fastest athletes across the three semi-finals who didn’t finish in the first two positions of their race.

For that to happen, she needed to break her South African record of 11.06 at least, and probably run a sub-11 second time. But it was not to be as Horn clocked 11.20 to come home in sixth in her semi-final, which was won by eventual champion Elaine Thompson.

The Jamaican grabbed gold later in the evening in a blistering time of 10.71, more than a tenth of a second ahead of American Tori Bowie, who took silver in 10.83.

Two-time defending champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce made a reasonable start, but had to settle for a bronze this time around in 10.86 – her fifth Olympic medal.

In the men’s 800m semi-finals, Van Rensburg had a good outing and improved his personal best to 1:45.33, but it was not enough as he ended in fifth place behind winner Alfred Kipketer of Kenya (1:44.38).

Mokoka was always going to be up against it in the 10 000m final, where British star Mo Farah (27:05.17) overcame a mid-race tumble to successfully defend his title in a sprint to the line against Kenya’s Paul Tanui (27:05.64).

SA champion Mokoka finished in 18th position in 27:54.57.

* Sascoc announced early on Sunday that Irvette van Zyl has had to withdraw from the women's marathon due to a stress fracture in her foot.

Van Zyl – the wife of 400m hurdler LJ van Zyl – had been complaining of pain in her foot, and an MRI scan revealed the stress fracture.

Christine Kalmer and Dina Lebo Phalula are the remaining South Africans in the field for the women's marathon, which starts at 2.30pm SA time on Sunday.

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