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Zakithi Nene captured the second Diamond League victory of his career as he won the men’s 400m from the outside lane nine in Stockholm on Sunday.
And countryman Sinesipho Dambile finished second in the men’s 200m behind American Kenny Bednarek while Prudence Sekgodiso finished fifth in a lightning women’s 800m.
The 28-year-old Nene, whose previous Diamond League win came at the same 1912 Olympic venue in the Swedish capital three years ago, paced his race to perfection, coming off the top bend in the lead and then holding his form to the line to cross first in 44.48sec.
American Jacory Patterson was second in 44.69, Jereem Richards of Trinidad and Tobago third in a 44.87 season’s best.
It was the first time Nene had finished in front of Richards and the second time he had beaten Patterson.
Khaleb McRae of the US was fourth in 44.94, Briton Charles Dobson fifth in 45.15 and Zambia’s Olympic bronze medallist Muzala Samukonga seventh in 47.93.
Briton Matthew Hudson-Smith, the Paris 2024 silver medallist, pulled out shortly before the start.
Dambile produced a strong finish on the home straight as he overhauled American Courtney Lindsey to take second place in the 200m in 20.10, behind Bednarek in 19.87.
Lindsey was third in 20.24.
Mthi Mthimkulu, a member of the South African 4x400m team that won silver at World Relays last month, was fifth in 20.78.
Sekgodiso, third going into the final bend, faded to fifth in 1 min 57.70 sec, but at the front of the race Swiss Audrey Werro ran the third-fastest time in history, winning in 1:53.98.
She’s the fastest woman in 43 years — the only faster runs have come from Czech Jarmila Kratochvilova (1:53.28) in 1983 and Nadezhda Olizarenko of the Soviet Union (1:53.43) in 1980.
Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson of Britain, who had taken the lead on the back straight, had no answer to Werro’s final push down the home straight, but she still crossed the line in a 1:54.33 national record and the fifth quickest time in history.
American Roisin Willis was third in 1:57.56 and Anais Bourgoin of France was fourth in 1:57.68.
But perhaps the biggest surprise of the day was local hero Armand Duplantis finishing second in the men’s pole vault behind Australian Kurtis Marschall, who took the triumph with a height of 5.90m.
Duplantis had cleared 5.80m, but failed twice at 6.00m and then once at 6.05m.
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