Cape Town - A confident Wayde van Niekerk eased to victory in heat 2 of the 400m at the IAAF World Championships, stopping the clock in a respectable time of 45.28.
He will now contest the semi-finals on Sunday.
Van Niekerk started out fairly slowly and by the time he entered the straight, he was only in fifth position. His trademark powerful finish however, powered him past his fellow competitors and he won ahead of Davide Re (Italy) and Michel Cedenio (Trinidad and Tobago).