By Herman Mostert.
@WorldAthletics.
South Africa’s Udeme Okon won the men’s 400m final at the U20 World Championships in Lima, Peru on Friday morning (SA time).
Okon won gold in atime of 45.69 seconds.
Okon, 18, stunned Americans Jayden Davis and Sidi Njie with an impressive surge in the home straight. Davis (46.08) won silver and Njie (46.29) settled for bronze.
WHAT. A. COMEBACK.
??’s Udeme Okon wins the 400m final in great style with 45.69 ?#WorldAthleticsU20 pic.twitter.com/30Rd1KXTIf
— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) August 30, 2024
Meanwhile South Africa’s Olympic hero, Bayanda Walaza, continued his impressive run when he eased into the 200m final.
Walaza won his semi-final heat in a time of 21.00 seconds.
The men’s 200m final will take place at 01:47 (SA time) on Saturday morning.
Earlier this week, 18-year-old Walaza won the 100m final in a time of 10.19 seconds.
His countryman, 19-year-old Bradley Nkoana, took bronze in 10.26 and Thailand’s Puripol Boonson finished second in 10.22.
Both Walaza and Nkoana were part of Team SA’s 4x100m relay side that won silver at the Olympic Games in Paris earlier this month.
Elsewhere on Thursday, South Africa’s Chane Vermeulen missed out on a spot in the women’s 200m final. Vermeulen finished third in her semi-final heat but her time of 23.78 was not enough to make the final.