Makwala on cloud nine after record feat
Mqondisi Dube | Tuesday July 7, 2015 14:26
Records best 5th 400m time Sets sight on World Championships
La Chaux-de-Fonds holds fond memories for Makwala who did a one-day record double last year, including setting a new Africa 400m mark.
Africa’s fastest 400m runner was under pressure to perform after South Africa’s Wayde van Niekerk ran 43.96 to mark a new record.
The previous best was 44:01, which Makwala set last year in Switzerland.
But Makwala responded in the best possible fashion when he cruised to the finish line in 43:72, in the process recording the fifth fastest time in history. It is also the year’s best time and augurs well for the local athlete as he prepares for the World Championships in Beijing next month.
“I feel good so far. Going to the World Championships, I want to be in the top three. I need to be on that podium,” he told Mmegi Sport yesterday.
On Sunday, Makwala crossed the line in 43.72, the fastest time in the world since Jeremy Wariner won the world title in 2007.
Now the fastest non-US 400m sprinter in history, Makwala moves to fifth position on the world all-time list, ahead of Olympic champion Kirani James, and world champion LaShawn Merritt. It is the third year in a row in which Makwala has competed in La Chaux-de-Fonds.
In 2013, he clocked a national 200m record of 20.21 and a 400m season’s best of 45.86. A year later, he improved his 200m record to 19.96, and clocked 44.01 over 400m. His fastest 400m time outside of Switzerland is his 44.23 clocking, which he set when winning the African title in Marrakech last year. (Additional
reporting IAAF)