Zakithi Nene
South African sprinter
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Zakithi Nene (born 2 April 1998) is a South African sprinter, who specializes in the 400 metres.
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | South African |
| Born | 2 April 1998 Ladysmith, South Africa |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Track and Field |
Event | 400 m |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Personal bests | |
Medal record | |
Biography
Nene won the South African 400 metres national title in 2021 and qualified for the 2020 Summer Olympics through his world ranking.[1] He competed in the 400 metres where he ran a time of 45.74 seconds.[2]
He ran as part of the South African 4 × 400 m relay team which qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics at the 2024 World Relays Championships in Nassau, Bahamas.[3] He finished third in the 400 metres at the 2024 BAUHAUS-galan in Stockholm on 2 June 2024.[4]
He competed at the 2024 Summer Olympics over 400 metres in August 2024, reaching the semi-finals.[5][6] He also competed in the men's 4 × 400 m relay at the Games.[7]
He was selected for the South African relay pool at the 2025 World Athletics Relays in China, where he was a gold medalist in the Men's 4 × 400 metres relay, running the anchor leg and splitting 43.64 in the final as the South African team set a new national record of 2:57.50 in May 2025.[8][9][10][11] Later that month, he ran 44.46 seconds to finish runner-up to Jacory Patterson in the 400 metres at the 2025 Meeting International Mohammed VI d'Athlétisme de Rabat, part of the 2025 Diamond League.[12] He ran a new personal best of 43.76 seconds to win the Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi on 31 May 2025.[13] He was runner-up in the 400 metres at the Diamond League event at the 2025 Golden Gala in Rome on 6 June 2025.[14] He finished third in the 400 m in 44.29 seconds at the 2025 London Athletics Meet.[15]
Competing at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan, he ran 44.34 seconds in his heat and 44.20 seconds in his semi-final to qualify for the 400 m final, where he placed fifth overall.[16] He was also a bronze medalist in the men's 4 x 400 metres relay.[17]
In April 2026, Nene won ahead of Zambian Olympic bronze medallist Muzala Samukonga over 400 m, winning in 44.50 seconds, at the Kip Keino Classic.[18] Competing on the opening day at the 2026 World Athletics Relays on 2 May, he was part of the South African men's 4 x 400 metres team which won their heat in 2:58.04.[19] The following day, he ran as the team won the silver medal and set a new South African national record 2:55.07 to move to fifth on the all-time list.[20][21] Later that month, he had a third-place finish over 400 m at the 2026 Xiamen Diamond League and fourth in the 400 metres at the 2026 Meeting International Mohammed VI d'Athlétisme de Rabat.[22][23] On 7 June, Nene had his first win in the 2026 Diamond League at the 2026 Bauhausgalan in Stockholm, running 44.48 seconds, . and on 28 June, finished runner-up with 43.89 as Collen Kebinatshipi broke the Diamond League record in the 400 metres at the 2026 Meeting de Paris.[24][25] On 1 August, he won the bronze medal in the 400 metres final at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland.[26] At the 2026 Diamond League Final in Brussels in September, he placed sixth over 400 metres.[27] Later that month, he competed over 400 m at the inaugural World Ultimate Championship in Budapest.[28]
Personal life
He studied economics at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in his native South Africa.[29]
