Wayde van Niekerk secures his place in World Champs final

Though he was given a bit of a scare, Wayde van Niekerk managed to stay in the hunt for a medal at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest on Tuesday night.

Van Niekerk settled for third position in his 400m semifinal in 44.65 seconds, booking his place in the final to be held on Thursday, as he set his sights on reclaiming the global title he last won in 2017.

With only the top two athletes in each semifinal progressing automatically, the world record holder was made to wait to confirm he had secured a lane in the final.

And he will need to find another gear in the medal contest after qualifying sixth fastest in the penultimate round, with Jamaican athlete Antonio Watson clocking the quickest time of 44.13.

Also competing in the 400m semifinals, former SA champion Zakithi Nene ended sixth in his race in 45.64 and he did not qualify for the final.

Fourie reaches semis

Earlier, in the women’s 100m hurdles, national record holder Marione Fourie made it safely through the opening round by finishing third in her heat in 12.71.

Versatile athlete Taylon Bieldt settled for seventh place in her heat in 13.05 and she did not progress to the semifinals.

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Another hurdler, Zeney van der Walt, brought a tough World Championships campaign to a close by finishing eighth in 55.49 in her 400m hurdles semifinal.

Van der Walt competed in four races in three days, reaching the semifinals of the 400m and 400m hurdles events after making a brave attempt at a challenging double.