South Africa’s Lythe Tyresse Pillay dominated the men’s 400m final at Rhine Ruhr 2025 FISU World University Games, clocking a season’s best time of 44.84 seconds for victory at the Lohrheidestadion in Bochum on Wednesday.

Behind Pillay, Hungary’s Patrik Simon Enyingi finished a distant second in 45.41 while Edoardo Scotti of Italy secured third place with a time of 45.61.

In fourth place, Jack Raftery from Ireland crossed the finish in 45.69 with Czechia’s Matej Krsek setting a season’s best, of 45.84 in fifth – exactly 1.00 second behind the South African.

Marcin Karolewski from Poland took sixth place with a time of 46.16 ahead of fellow countryman, Daniel Soltysiak, who came in seventh in 46.28 while Kira Hirakawa from Japan rounded out the competition, finishing in 46.68 seconds.

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“Finishing the season off with a gold, that’s huge, man. I’m happy. I’ve been chasing this all year,” said Pillay after the race.

“I always push the finish line further every time I get closer to it. Coming in I did think I would feel redeemed, and I won but now I feel like I can still go faster.

“I feel like I have more work to do, which I think is a good thing. But I’ll also enjoy the moment now. I’m finding my legs again, so I’m feeling a lot more confident going in.”

“It’s not easy, not at all easy. I’m honoured to have won, representing my country, my university. It’s also a nice competition to wake me up again,” he noted when asked about the competition at Rhine-Ruhr 2025.