Antonio Alkana smashed the South African 110m hurdles record last night when he won at the Josef Odlozil Memorial in Prague in a time that suggests he will be a contender at the world championships in London in August.
The 27-year-old Capetonian improved his previous best by 0.17sec as he clocked 13.11sec to dip below the 13.24 set by Lehann Fourie in the Diamond League five years ago.
Alkana, who had a forgettable national championships in which he ended second in a disappointing 13.49, has now rocketed into joint third on the world rankings alongside American Devon Allen.
On Sunday, Wayde van Niekerk won his first international race of the year, but Akani Simbine was edged into his first 100m defeat of the year.
Racing in the 200m straight at the Boston street meet in the US, Van Niekerk, the 400m world record-holder and Olympic champion, cruised home in 19.84 seconds on a specially built elevated track on Charles Street that enabled fans to watch up close. He defeated American BeeJay Lee by 0.33 seconds in the five-lane race.
"It was challenging," Van Niekerk told reporters. "To be honest, I thought I did a 400. It was a bit tough."