Wayde stays in the hunt, coasting into World Champs final

Wayde van Niekerk kept his medal hopes alive with another convincing effort in the early hours of Thursday morning (SA time) as the world record holder booked his place in the men’s 400m final at the World Athletics Championships in Eugene.

After struggling to bounce back from a serious knee injury, Van Niekerk showed a glimpse of his best form in the first-round heats earlier in the week.

Returning to the track, he again had no trouble in his semifinal, taking second place in 44.75 seconds and progressing to the medal contest to be held on Saturday morning.

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Earlier on day six of competition at the track and field showpiece, Caster Semenya’s campaign came to an end.

Sidelined from the women’s two-lap event, the three-time 800m world champion was always facing a massive battle in her attempt to reach the 5 000m final.

She ultimately settled for 13th place in her heat in 15:46.12, finishing well outside a place in the final.

While the SA team had not yet earned a medal, with four days of competition remaining in Eugene, Luxolo Adams was set to chase a podium place in the men’s 200m final, to be held at 4.50am on Friday morning.