Wayde Van Niekerk Squeaks Through to 400m Final at World Athletics Championships

• Wayde van Niekerk was made to work for his qualification for the finals of the 400m race in Budapest
• Van Niekerk finished third in his heat and made the final as one of the fastest non-automatic qualifiers
• South Africa's Zakithi Nene also competed in the semis but could not book his spot in the 400m finals

Wayde van Niekerk has qualified for the finals of the 400m race at the World Athletics Championship in Budapest, Hungary.

The South African competed in the first heat of the semi-finals but didn’t have it all his own way.

Van Niekerk finished third in the heat in a time of 44.65 and had to wait for the other two heats to conclude to see if he made it to the finals.

The world record holder finished behind Antonio Watson from Jamaica and Vernon Norwood from the United States in the race.

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Thankfully for van Niekerk, he made it through to the final as one of the two fastest non-automatic qualifiers.

Fellow South African, Zakithi Nene, also competed in the heats but failed to make it to the final. He was in a strong position heading into the final straight but fell away.

5 interesting facts about Wayde

The sprinter is loved not only in South Africa but all around the world. The Olympic and World record holder has become a household name thanks to his sprinting exploits, but injury curtailed his meteoric rise.

With the World Athletics Championships currently taking place in Budapest, Hungary this month, Sports Brief previously looked at five interesting facts about van Niekerk as he aims to claim a gold medal.

Van Niekerk sets new record

As Sports Brief also reported, he is finding his form once again in the 400m. Van Niekerk ran a blistering pace at the Silesia Diamond League, setting a new meeting record in the process.

The South African sprinter has been plagued by injuries since the 2016 Olympics in Rio but has found his form in the early athletics season as he looks to return to the top of the mountain.