Zakithi Nene
Zakithi Nene is a South African sprinter, who specializes in the 400 metres.
Career
He won the South African 400 m national title in 2021 and qualified for the 2020 Summer Olympics through his world ranking.He competed in the 400 metres where he ran a time of 45.74 seconds.
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. He finished third in the 400 metres at the 2024 BAUHAUS-galan in Stockholm on 2 June 2024.
He competed at the 2024 Summer Olympics over 400 metres in August 2024, reaching the semi-finals. He also competed in the men's 4 × 400 m relay at the Games.
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. 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. He ran a new personal best of 43.76 seconds to win the Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi on 31 May 2025. He was runner-up in the 400 metres at the Diamond League event at the 2025 Golden Gala in Rome on 6 June 2025. He finished third in the 400 m in 44.29 seconds at the 2025 London Athletics Meet.
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. He was also a bronze medalist in the men's 4 x 400 metres relay.