Team SA 400m athletes grab lifeline to book spot in semis

Zakithi Nene and Lythe Pillay can look forward to Tuesday’s 400m semi-finals at the Paris Olympics after attaining victory in their respective repechage heats.

The duo had missed out on automatic qualification, but were afforded a second opportunity through the repechage round.

Pillay led from start to finish in his repechage heat, winning in a time of 45.4 seconds. The 21-year-old certainly still has some gas left in the tank as he has not yet come close to his season’s best of 44.33 set in Pietermaritzburg earlier this year.

Nene, meanwhile, was much more impressive in his repechage heat as he cruised to the finish line in an impressive 44.81. South Africans can also look forward to seeing Rogail Joseph and Zeney Geldenhuys compete in the 400m women’s hurdles semi-finals on Tuesday.

Joseph ran a personal best 54.56 to finish second in her heat and qualify automatically for the semis, while Geldenhuys finished third in her heat with a time of 55.73 to also ensure automatic qualification.

Joseph’s qualification for the Olympic semi-finals set off wild celebrations in her hometown of Worcester in the Western Cape, with a video on social media showing neighbours running down the streets to her mother’s house to pass on their well wishes.

They will no doubt be glued to their television screens when the 24-year-old, who studied economic development at UWC, runs her semi-final this evening.

Another South African sprinter, Miranda Coetzee, will have another shot at qualifying for the semi-final of the women’s 400m. Coetzee finished fourth, in 51.58, in her heat to miss out on automatic qualification for the semi-finals.