Makwala could crack 31 seconds
BOTSWANA star Isaac Makwala would like to become the fourth man in the world to break 31 seconds when he races the 300m in Pretoria on Thursday. Makwala‚ one of only five athletes on the planet to have run a sub-20-second 200m and sub-44 400m‚ will be one of the foreign stars on show at the Liquid Telecom Athletix Grand Prix meet at the Tuks track. World 100m champion Justin Gatlin of the US is the main attraction in the 150m, where he takes on Anaso Jobodwana‚ leaving Akani Simbine the out-and-out favourite for the 100m. Two of the three sub-20/sub-44 men have been quicker than 31 seconds in the 300m – Wayde van Niekerk and American Michael Johnson. The third is Usain Bolt.
Makwala and veteran American LaShawn Merritt are the two sub-20/sub44 runners who have not been under 31 seconds in the 300m; Merritt’s best is 31.23‚ while Makwala’s is 31.44.
Van Niekerk holds the 30.81sec world best‚ which he took from Johnson (30.85) last year. Bolt’s best was 30.97.
Makwala – the only man in the world to have done a sub-20/sub-44 on the same day‚ about 75 minutes apart – was a little slower when he ran the double at the opening Athletix meet in Ruimsig last Thursday.
He won the 400m in 45.03 but 30 minutes later faded into fifth spot in 20.89.
“I did not go flat out in the 400m on Thursday because I still had the 200m a bit later in the evening‚” he said.
“But there is only the 300m for me this Thursday‚ so I feel very confident about getting close to that sub-31.”
Makwala will again face young Thapelo Phora‚ who was second behind him in the 400m in Ruimsig‚ and Pieter Conradie‚ who was third.
Veteran one-lapper Ofentse Mogawane is also in the lineup.
Also competing in the 100m are Henricho Bruintjies‚ the former holder of the 9.97 SA record‚ rising star Clarence Munyai‚ world under-18 champion Tshenolo Lemao and world U18 200m champion Retshiditswe Mlenga.
Potentially the biggest threat to Simbine‚ holder of the 9.89 SA record‚ is Gatlin’s training partner Justin Walker‚ who boasts a 10.05 best.
Simbine has been beaten only twice over 100m on home soil since 2014.
This will be Simbine’s first race of the season.
In the men’s 400m hurdles‚ Nicholas Bett, Kenya’s 2015 world champion, will be in action against the local trio of LJ van Zyl‚ Constant Pretorius and Le Roux Hamman.