South African running sensation Wayde van Niekerk made a name for himself on the global stage at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio by winning the men’s 400m gold in world record time.
The 24-year-old athlete has been preparing for an excellent performance for Team SA in Brazil, with the country expecting great things from the 400m star. The humble sportsman delivered on his athletic promise, and reaped the rewards for his hard work in preparing for Rio 2016.
To celebrate the achievement of South Africa’s newest sports hero, we take a closer look at 15 things you may not know about South African athlete, Wayde van Niekerk.
Source: IOL, Twitter, IAAF, TimesLive, CityPress, Channel24, LiverpoolEcho, IndependentOnline.
South African Wayde Van Niekerk stole the Olympic spotlight with a phenomenal men’s 400m victory, setting a new world record in the event with a time of 43.03 seconds in the one-lap race. He eased to victory despite the level of competition, as he faced former Olympic men’s 400m champions Kirani James and LaShawn Merritt.
In winning the Rio 2016 men’s 400m race he managed to break the 17-year record held by American Michael Johnson with a time of 43.03 seconds. Johnson’s world record of 43.18 seconds and the 1996 Olympic record of 43.49 were dashed with an excellent run from the South African.
Soon after winning the Olympic gold medal, Van Niekerk was personally congratulated and embraced by Usain Bolt. The Jamaican sprinting legend had trained alongside Van Niekerk in Jamaica a few months before Rio 2016.
While Team SA had done well to earn five silver and one bronze medal before Van Niekerk’s incredible display of athletic prowess, they were yet to achieve the gold, but their 400m champion made sure to secure the country’s first gold in Brazil.
Van Niekerk made history at the Free State Championships in March by becoming the only athlete ever to run the 100m under 10 seconds, the 200m under 20 seconds and the 400m in under 44 seconds. His time of 9.98 for the 100m, added to 19.94 for the 200m sprint and 43.48 over 400m puts him in a class of his own.
Van Niekerk was born and raised in Cape Town. He attended Grey College before going on to study marketing at University of the Free State. The athlete was always good at sports growing up, but was encouraged to focus on his studies while developing his professional athletics career.
Van Niekerk continued to build his profile at the 2015 IAAF World Championships, where he won gold in the 400 metres with a personal best time of 43.48 seconds. This achievement made him the fourth fastest person in history, and the fastest non-American. He has since eclipsed that with the record, making him world and Olympic champion.
Van Niekerk loves sport, and is a keen soccer fan, with his favourite club team being Liverpool, the famous Merseyside team that plays in the English Premier League. His beloved Liverpool beat Arsenal 4-3 on the eve of his historic 400m world record run.
Fellow Team South Africa athlete and 100m sprinter Akani Simbine is Van Niekerk’s room-mate at the Olympic Games, with the pair often travelling together for athletic meets around the globe. They are great friends who motivate each other in their athletics pursuits. Simbine finished fifth in the final of the men’s 100m in Rio.
The South African athlete uses Twitter as a social media platform to connect with his many fans and fellow sports personalities. He had over 10,700 followers on Twitter, and that number skyrocketed during the 2016 Olympics. His handle is @WaydeDreamer.
Van Niekerk’s Twitter following exploded after his amazing accomplishment in Rio, having increased from around 10,000 followers before the competition to a figure of over 34,000 in the hours after his world record run. That number continues to grow.
The 400m world and Olympic champion is very religious, and speaks often about God’s influence in his life, thanking the man upstairs for the many blessings he enjoys and for the athletic talent that he possesses.
In the lead up to the Rio Olympics Van Niekerk ran a third best ever time in the 300m race in Jamaica, clocking a time of 31.03 at the National Stadium in Kingston. Only American great Michael Johnson (30.85) and Usain Bolt (30.97) have run that race faster in history.
Van Niekerk is working in collaboration with Cartoon Network and ChildLine regarding their international anti-bullying campaign, CN Buddy Network, in South Africa. Children are encouraged to “be a buddy, not a bully”, with the aim of raising awareness and empowering kids against bullying.
In addition to his Olympic gold medal, Van Niekerk won a silver medal in the 400m at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, and also earned bronze in the 4×400 metres relay at the 2013 Summer Universiade. He featured for South Africa at the 2015 Athletics World Championships‚ winning a gold medal in the 400m event.