Botswana athlete Collen Kebinatshipi has set his sights on breaking South African Wayde van Niekerk’s 400 metres men’s world record after winning gold at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Afrosport reports.
The 21-year old ran in a time of 43.53 seconds, the 10th fastest time in history, to win the gold medal ahead of Trinidad and Tobago’s Jereem Richards and Botswana’s Bayapo Ndori.
He was also ran the last lap to held Botswana win gold in the men’s 4×400 metres relay.
Van Niekerk’s holds the 400 metres world record of 43.03 seconds which stood since he won gold at the 2016 Olympicsq in Rio de Janeiro.
ALL THE GLORY GOES TO BOTSWANA 🇧🇼
Collen Kebinatshipi blazes to a national record and world lead of 43.53 in the 400m final to win his first global title 🔥
His teammate Bayapo Ndori goes home with 🥉 with 44.20 🤩#WorldAthleticsChamps pic.twitter.com/kELfc3ACRR
— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) September 18, 2025
Kebinatshipi told Newsday on the BBC World Service on his attempt to break Van Niekerk’s record: “Records are meant to be broken. If I stay focused, if I stay injury free, everything is possible. I was very, very happy about the performance. [Running] 43.5 at my age is something else.”
His victory in Tokyo also saw him become the first man from Botswana to win a world title, and matches the record of Amantle Montsho as the the first woman after her triumph in the women’s 400 metres in Daegu in 2011.
