The sprinters Shaun Maswanganyi and Wayde van Niekerk will be running in the semi-finals of the men’s 200m sprint at the Olympic Games in Paris this evening.

Van Niekerk, who is more renowned for the 400m, ran 20.42 seconds in the heats which was the slowest time in qualifying for the semi-finals.

The 23-year-old Maswanganyi finished third in his heat in 20.20 seconds on Monday night. Following his race on Monday, Maswanganyi said he can go a lot better in the half-lap sprint.

“It was one of my fastest times, and that was a horribly executed race,” said Maswanganyi.

“I know that there is more to work on – I didn’t come out the turn as well as I usually want to. I used too much energy on the turn. I want to be a little bit more efficient in the semi-finals so that I have a lot more in the home stretch.

“I’m used to the pressure, the NCAA circuit is quite as rigorous and quite as demanding, but I’m just to make it through and qualify. Hopefully, I can ensure that I make the final.”

The semi-finals start tonight at 20:02 and Maswanganyi will run the first race, while Van Niekerk will run in the third semi.

OFM Sport/Morgan Piek dg