Wayde’s runs of success carry on

WAYDE van Niekerk knocked 14-hundredths of a second off his own national mark as he won the 400m in 44.24sec in New York on Saturday.

The Bloemfontein runner clocked 44.24sec to better the 44.38 he had posted in the same Diamond League meet a year ago.

That makes him No 2 on the world rankings for 2015 so far this year, behind Olympic champion James Kirani, of Grenada.

“I just took it step by step and tried to stay comfortable,” said Van Niekerk, who had shown he was in good form last week when he broke the 29-yearold African record for the seldom-run event.

Van Niekerk, 22, beat veteran Chris Brown, of the Bahamas, a former world indoor champion who has ended fourth at two Olympics as well as two world championships.

Tony McQuay, of the US, runner-up at the world championships in 2013, was third in 45.26.

“I am happy and am looking forward to the rest of the season,” Van Niekerk said.

In the 400m hurdles, veteran LJ van Zyl finished second behind Javier Culson in 48.78, his best time since 2011.

Akani Simbine finished third in the 100m, clocking 10.18 into a stiff headwind.

Tyson Gay, of the US, won in 10.12, ahead of Jamaican Nesta Carter in 10.15.

Keston Bledman, of Trinidad and Tobago, had initially finished second in 10.13, but he was later disqualified for a false start. He ran under appeal. Among the big-name sprinters Simbine beat to bag a Diamond Race point was Nickel Ashmeade, another Jamaican.

Orazio Cremona ended second-last in the shot put, his 19.51m effort falling more than two metres short of the 21.67m by American Joe Kovacs.