Zakithi Nene

Zakithi Nene
Personal information
NationalitySouth African
Born (1998-04-02) 2 April 1998
Ladysmith, South Africa
Sport
SportTrack and Field
Event
400 m
Achievements and titles
Personal bests
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  South Africa
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place2025 Tokyo4 × 400 m relay
Commonwealth Games
Bronze medal – third place2026 Glasgow400 m
World Relays
Gold medal – first place2025 Guangzhou4 × 400 m relay
Silver medal – second place2024 Nassau4 × 400 m relay
Silver medal – second place2026 Gaborone4×400 m relay
Summer Universiade
Silver medal – second place2019 Naples4 × 400 m relay
African Championships
Silver medal – second place2018 Asaba4 × 400 m relay

Zakithi Nene (born 2 April 1998) is a South African sprinter, who specializes in the 400 metres.

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 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]

Personal life

He studied economics at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in his native South Africa.[27]

References

  1. ↑ "Ballito's 400m Olympian Zakithi Nene prepares to race in Tokyo". 29 July 2021.
  2. ↑ "Athletics - Round 1 - Heat 2 Results". olympics.com.
  3. ↑ "4X400 METRES RELAY". World Athletics. 5 May 2024. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
  4. ↑ Johnson, Robert (2 June 2024). "2024 Stockholm Diamond League Results – 2024 Bauhaus Galan Results". Letsrun. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
  5. ↑ "Men's 400m Hurdles Results - Paris Olympic Games 2024 Athletics". Watch Athletics. 7 August 2024. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  6. ↑ "More SA athletes for Paris Olympics announced". SuperSport. 19 June 2024. Archived from the original on 21 June 2024. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
  7. ↑ "Men's 4 x 400 Metres Relay - Paris Olympic Games 2024 Athletics". Watch Athletics. 10 August 2024. Retrieved 28 December 2024.
  8. ↑ "South Africa select a team of 19 for World Athletics Relays Guangzhou 25". Athletics.Africa. 1 May 2025. Retrieved 11 May 2025.
  9. ↑ "World Athletics Relays Guangzhou 25: South Africa and Spain upset favourites in men's and women's 4x400m finals". Olympics.com. 11 May 2025. Retrieved 11 May 2025.
  10. ↑ "USA, Spain and South Africa claim 4x400m titles in Guangzhou". World Athletics. 11 May 2025. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
  11. ↑ "FINAL | 4x400 Metres Relay | Results | Guangzhou 25 | World Athletics Relays". worldathletics.org. Archived from the original on 1 June 2025. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  12. ↑ "Chebet storms to second on world 3000m all-time list with 8:11.56 in Rabat". World Athletics. 25 May 2025. Retrieved 28 May 2025.
  13. ↑ "Nene smashes 44-second barrier in Nairobi". World Athletics. 31 May 2025. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  14. ↑ "Chebet goes No.2 all time with 14:03.69 5000m in Rome". World Athletics. 6 June 2025. Retrieved 7 June 2025.
  15. ↑ "Alekna, Alfred and Tsegay take down meeting records in London". World Athletics. 19 July 2025. Retrieved 19 July 2025.
  16. ↑ "World Athletics Championships, Tokyo 2025". World Athletics. 14 September 2025. Retrieved 14 September 2025.
  17. ↑ "World Athletics Championships, Tokyo 2025". World Athletics. 13 September 2025. Retrieved 23 September 2025.
  18. ↑ "Rogers, Thomas and Pathirage break meeting records in Nairobi". World Athletics. 24 April 2026. Retrieved 24 April 2026.
  19. ↑ Jonckheere, Karien (2 May 2026). "SA and Botswana set up blockbuster relay showdown in Gaborone". Supersport. Retrieved 2 May 2026.
  20. ↑ "Botswana bring World Relays to epic close with historic men's 4x400m win". World Athletics. 3 May 2026. Retrieved 3 May 2026.
  21. ↑ "Records fall as SA teams produce two silvers at World Relays". Timeslive.co.za. 3 May 2026. Retrieved 3 May 2026.
  22. ↑ "Results - Rabat Diamond League 2026". Watch Athletics. 31 May 2026. Retrieved 1 June 2026.
  23. ↑ "Results - Xiamen Diamond League 2026". Watch Athletics. 23 May 2026. Retrieved 26 May 2026.
  24. ↑ "Werro, Kebinatshipi and Paulino break Diamond League records in Paris". World Athletics. 28 June 2026. Retrieved 28 June 2026.
  25. ↑ "Werro goes No.3 all time with 1:53.98 800m in Stockholm". World Athletics. 7 June 2026. Retrieved 7 June 2026.
  26. ↑ Crumley, Euan. "MATT DENNY'S GOLDEN THROW PUTS HIM IN ELITE COMMONWEALTH COMPANY". Athletics Weekly. Retrieved 1 August 2026.
  27. ↑ "Athletics NENE Zakithi - Tokyo 2020 Olympics". olympics.com.
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