LJ beat home America's 2005 world champion Bershawn Jackson (47.98) and Danny McFarlane of Jamaica (48.13).

Van Zyl is only the second South African hurdler to go under 48 seconds. Llewellyn Herbert ran a time of 47.81 at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.

LJ sprint over the last 100 metres caught both Jackson and McFarland off guard. LJ got his nose in front the first time with only 20 meters to go.

"Finally! I have lost so often!" said a delighted LJ in an interview with the news agency Sapa.

"At last I have won. I think it's the best performance of my life. It was a quick race from the start and I stayed focussed on the greater goal in Berlin (August's World Championships) and everything played out as I wanted it to,” added LJ.