By Maxwell Kumoye.
Botswanaβs Collen Kebinatshipi underlined his emergence as one of the worldβs premier 400m runners by storming to victory at the World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest on Saturday.
The 22-year-old world champion produced another stunning performance, clocking 43.39 seconds to claim the inaugural 400m title and establish a new Botswana national record.
The run also moved Kebinatshipi into sole fifth place on the world all-time list, extending a remarkable progression that has seen him repeatedly lower his national record throughout the season.
USAβs Rai Benjamin finished a distant second in 44.15, while Trinidad and Tobagoβs Jereem Richards took third in 44.23.
Kebinatshipi arrived in Budapest in formidable form after winning the Diamond League title and setting a national record of 43.40 in Brussels. That performance had lifted him into a tie for fifth on the all-time list.
His Brussels run was his third Diamond League record of the campaign, following impressive marks of 43.54 in Paris and 43.44 in Monaco.
But Budapest produced an even greater statement.
Kebinatshipi controlled the race with composure, maintained his momentum through the closing stages and pulled clear of Benjamin, the world and Olympic 400m hurdles champion, and Richards, who had finished runner-up to him at the Diamond League Final.
The Botswana star had already set his sights on the world-leading 43.38 recorded by Nigeriaβs Samuel Ogazi at the NCAA Championships in June.
After his Diamond League triumph, Kebinatshipi acknowledged that breaking the mark would require a more aggressive approach from the opening stages.
That mindset paid off in Budapest, as he came within 0.01 seconds of Ogaziβs world-leading time while adding another major title to a season that continues to redefine the limits of Botswanaβs sprinting.
