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.
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