Wayde, Caster both aiming for gold today

WAYDE van Niekerk is finally starting to talk like a fearsome boxer.

The 400m world champion roared through the half-lap semifinals in an impressive 20.03sec — the fastest 200m by a South African on home soil to date — and then said he planned to go faster in tonight’s final.

Van Niekerk and Caster Semenya are poised to deliver a high-octane double act on the closing day of the African championships today.

South Africa entrenched themselves further at the top of the medals table with golds for Sunette Viljoen, winning her fifth continental javelin crown, and Antonio Alkana, who triumphed in the 110m hurdles.

Van Niekerk previously possessed the verbal ferocity of a choirboy, but now he’s injecting the killer instinct he displays on the track into interviews.

Yesterday, he made it clear he had Anaso Jobodwana’s 19.87 seconds national record in his sights, not to mention Frankie Fredericks’s 19.99 championship mark from 1998.

“All of us are chasing to better ourselves,” he said. “When that national record comes I’ll be really, really grateful. At the moment, I’m just trying to find some good form.”

I tired out a bit in the last 50m, so if I can get a good recovery now then I’ll be ready for tomorrow’s final

Is the 400m world record a possibility at the Rio Olympics?

“Anything is possible,” he replied, a clear break from less than a year ago, when he would decline to commit to targeted times. That’s his version of Mike Tyson threatening to knock out an opponent.

Was he satisfied with his time yesterday? “I’m not yet happy.

“I think each and every one of you know what I want . . . so I’m going to try again tomorrow.”

That’s Wayde-speak for wanting to put his foe in hospital.

Van Niekerk, with a 200m best of 19.94, displayed his intent in the semifinals, not letting off, even at the end.

“The first 150m was quite good, I felt quite strong,” said Van Niekerk, unbeaten over all distances so far this season.

“I tired out a bit in the last 50m, so if I can get a good recovery now then I’ll be ready for tomorrow’s final.”

Semenya, who has given the strongest indication yet that she might attempt a double at the Rio Games in August, will be favourite in her specialist 800m today.

The “Moletjie Express” coasted to victory in 2min 02.01sec, the fastest time of the heats yesterday. The night before she won the 1 500m in a blitzkrieg 4:01.99, which ranks her ninth in the world in that event.

“I would love to do that [the double] but it is up to the coach now,” said Semenya, the fastest woman over GOLDEN HOPE: Caster Semenya might add another event to the 800m at the Rio Olympic Games 800m so far this year and eighth in the 400m.

“The 1 500m is not part of my goals for Rio at the moment, I am just using it to balance my speed work and the mileage, so we are happy with the time.”

A 400m and 800m combination is the only real possibility — the 1 500m final will be run less than 13 hours before the 800m heats — but coach Jean Verster would prefer she focus on the two-lap event.

Viljoen was chuffed with her 64.08m.

“I’m really happy,” she beamed afterwards. “I felt very good tonight [yesterday]. I wish I could have thrown further because I felt so good. I thought my 64 was further . . .

“What’s very exciting is I have, here and there, a few technical things that I can work on, but everything is there.”

Khotso Mokoena delivered a season’s best 16.77m, which was good enough for bronze, but he was pleased to be back in the frame after rejoining coach Emmarie Fouché after dumping her last year.

“That’s why I got a medal,” said Mokoena, the Olympic long-jump silver medallist at Beijing 2008.

“I went back just over two weeks ago. Now we’re jumping well again.”

But Chris Harmse, 43, was disappointed after losing what would have been his seventh continental hammer-throw gold by 1.25m.