Finishing third in the 400m-hurdles at the Diamond League Meeting in Doha was just the confidence booster LJ van Zyl needed before he lines up in Shanghai on Friday.

The Tuks-athlete is not too happy with the time he ran, but for now, he will take it. 

“I would have liked to dip under 49 seconds in Doha but running a fast time was not the priority.  To be honest I wasn’t sure what sort of form I was in having to recover from a cold and then suffering some sinus problems.

“Hennie Kriel (coach) advised me to start off conservatively and try and get faster as the race progresses. I did exactly that and it worked. I was feeling really strong over the last two hurdles.”

According to Van Zyl he has only starting adapting to Kriel’s coaching program recently.

“I can feel I am getting stronger and stronger. The challenge at first was to get used to the way ‘Coach Hennie’ does things. It is totally different to what I was used to.”

Kriel (Tuks/HPC) said he knew that Van Zyl was in for a tough race as he was racing “blind” in lane eight.

“I know from experience that athletes often have nothing left when they get to the last two hurdles. Many a race has been lost in the last 40 metres. That is why I did not want LJ to start off too quickly.”

Kriel sort of expected Aderrahaman Samba (Qatar) to win.

“He is still a novice when it comes to racing the 400m-hurdles. I don’t think he has competed in more than five or six international races yet, but he is the real deal. I realised that after seeing with what ease he won in Sasolburg earlier this season.  Because of this, I knew it would be a mistake for LJ to try and race him from the start.”

Samba who is being coached by South Africa’s Hennie Kotze won the race in a time of 48.44s. The Olympic champion, Kerron Clement (USA), was second in 49.40s and Van Zyl third in 49.49s. Cornel Fredericks (Tuks) was 5th in a time of 49.96s.

It was the first time in two years that Fredericks has competed in a Diamond League race. 
Boniface Mucheru (Kenya), last year’s silver medallist at the Olympic Games finished 7th in 50.61s.

**Wenda Nel (Tuks) will start her international campaign on 25 May when she competes in the Diamond League Meeting in Eugene (USA).