BLOEMFONTEIN, South Africa — Olympic and two-time former world 400m champion Wayde van Niekerk was praised by coach Ans Botha Sunday after the latest victory in his comeback from a serious knee injury. The 27-year-old South African clocked 47.42 seconds when finishing first in a Free State provincial championships 400m race in Bloemfontein this weekend. While the time was far off the 43.03sec world record he set when winning gold at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, Botha was thrilled with the performance. "Wayde stopped running about 20 meters from the line and was just jogging. He could have run a 45 (seconds) race," the coach-cum-grandmother said. Botha added that another stumbling block to a faster time were the chilly, overcast conditions in the central city. "You cannot push too hard in this weather and we dare not take any risks with the (Tokyo) Olympics just five months away." Cape Town-born Van Niekerk withdrew from the national championships in Johannesburg last year because of chilly conditions. His latest victory was the fourth recent low-key win for him as he dreams of defending his Olympics 400m crown in Japan having missed the world championships in Doha last year. He was hand timed at 10.20sec when winning a university 100m race on grass, then electronically clocked at 10.10sec (100m) and 20.31sec (200m) at a track meet. Van Niekerk damaged his knee during October 2017 while playing in a celebrity touch rugby match that preceded a South Africa-New Zealand Test in Cape Town. His recovery included time at medical facilities in the United States and Qatar, and there were several setbacks, including bruising of the knee. The next track appearance of the two-time 400m world champion is likely to be a 200m race at a Cape Town meet on April 9. Rupp wins US marathon trials to secure Tokyo ticket Galen Rupp stormed to victory at the United States marathon trials on Saturday to book his fourth consecutive ticket to the Olympic Games. The 33-year-old distance runner, the protege of banned coach Alberto Salazar, powered home in 2hr 9min 20sec in blustery conditions in Atlanta, Georgia. Jacob Riley claimed second place 2:10:02 while the 43-year-old Abdi Abdirahman took third to qualify for Tokyo. The Somalia-born Abdirahman will be competing in his fifth Olympics after first competing in the 10,000m at the Sydney Olympics in 2000. Rupp, a marathon bronze medalist at the 2016 Olympics and a silver medalist in the 10,000m at the 2012 Games in London, has been troubled by Achilles and foot injuries in recent seasons. He underwent surgery in 2018 and last year suffered a blow when long-time coach Salazar was given a four-year ban by the United States Anti-Doping Agency for doping offenses. Rupp, who is now coached by Mike Smith, has never failed a doping test and has repeatedly denied using performance-enhancing drugs. In the women"s race on Saturday, the Kenya-born Aliphine Tuliamuk won in 2:27:23 ahead of Molly Seidel, who was competing in a marathon for the first time. Sally Kipyego, who won a silver medal for Kenya in the 10,000m at the 2012 Olympics, claimed the third spot. Tuliamuk, Seidel and Kipyego"s 1-2-3 finish upset the form book, with 2018 Boston Marathon winner Des Linden, US 10,000m record holder Molly Huddle and Jordan Hasay all missing out.— AFP