(10/02/2005)

South Africa’s Llewellyn Herbert has won his first ever race on an indoor 400m track.

The 27-year-old coasted home in an unofficial World all-time mark of 49.90 seconds, at the annual Botnia Games indoor meeting in Mustasaari - near the city of Vaasa.

Herbert won comfortably ahead of his young compatriot Wouter le Roux, who was timed 50.41 and Finnland’s Jussi Heikkilä who was third in 50.59 - the fastest European time ever.

Another Finn Janne Mäkelä had run the previous world best of 50.86 on the same track on February 2003.

The South African star has had a run of bad luck in major international competition ever since his World Championships silver medal in 1997 and his Olympic bronze in 2000.

He will compete in the 300m Hurdles, which he holds the indoor all-time best at 34.92 since 1999, in another Finnish city of Tampere on Saturday 12 February.

South African sprinter Morne Nagel also clocked 6.60 to beat Nigeria’s Finnish-based Nnamdi Anusim by 0.07 seconds in the 60m dash.