Wayde van Niekerk

Wayde van Niekerk
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  South Africa
Commonwealth Games
Silver 2014 Glasgow 400 metres
African Championships
Silver 2014 Marrakech 400 metres
Universiade
Bronze 2013 Kazan 4×400 m relay

Wayde van Niekerk (born 15 July 1992) is a South African track and field sprinter who competes in the 200 metres and 400 metres. He holds personal bests of 20.19 seconds and 44.38 seconds for the distances, respectively. The latter time is a South African record.

Van Niekerk was the silver medallist in the 400 m at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and took bronze in the 4×400 metres relay at the 2013 Summer Universiade. He also represented South Africa at the 2013 World Championships in Athletics.

Career

Van Niekerk was born in Cape Town.[1] He attended Grey College before going on to study marketing at University of Free State.[2] He made his international debut at the 2010 World Junior Championships in Athletics, where he placed fourth in the 200 m with a personal best time of 21.02 seconds. He also ran in the 4×100 metres relay heats with the national team, alongside Gideon Trotter.[3] His senior breakthrough came at the age of eighteen at the 2011 South African Athletics Championships when he won the 200 m title in a new personal best of 20.57 seconds.[4] He competed at that event at the 2011 African Junior Athletics Championships, but did not make the final. He ran sparingly in 2012, but began to show a talent for the 400 metres, setting a best of 46.43 seconds.[5]

The 2013 season marked van Niekerk's emergence as a 400 m runner. He won the second national title of his career over that distance at the 2013 South African Championships, winning with a sub-46-second time.[6] He won the IAAF Meeting de Dakar before travelling to Europe and placing second to Olympic champion Kirani James at the Golden Spike Ostrava, improving his best time to 45.09 seconds in the process.[7] He entered the 400 metres at the 2013 Summer Universiade, and narrowly missed out on the final as the fastest non-qualifier.[8] He managed to reach the podium and receive his first international medal in the 4×400 metres relay as the South African men took the bronze medals. His performances earned him a place at the 2013 World Championships in Athletics, where he competed in the heats only.[3]

A national title win in April 2014 saw van Niekerk top the world rankings with a best of 44.92 seconds – his first sub-45-second run. After a win at the FBK Games in the Netherlands he ran at the New York Diamond League race and placed second to LaShawn Merritt, but his time of 44.38 seconds was a new South African record, bettering Hendrick Mokganyetsi's time from September 2000.[9] A 200 m best of 20.19 seconds followed in a fourth place finish at the Athletissima meet.[5] He entered both sprint events at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and won his first individual senior medal over 400 m, placing behind Kirani James with a time of 44.68 seconds (his second fastest run at that point). He reached the semi-final of the 200 m, but did not repeat his success of the longer sprint.[1]

Personal bests

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Wayde Van Niekerk. Glasgow2014. Retrieved on 2014-07-31.
  2. ↑ Profile: Wayde Van Niekerk. Varsity Sports SA. Retrieved on 2014-07-31.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Wayde van Niekerk. IAAF. Retrieved on 2014-07-31.
  4. ↑ Ramsak, Bob (2011-04-12). Van Zyl sizzles 47.73 in Durban. IAAF. Retrieved on 2014-07-31.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Wayde van Niekerk. Tilastopaja. Retrieved on 2014-07-31.
  6. ↑ Magakwe stays SA's sprint king. Sport24 (2014-04-12). Retrieved on 2014-07-31.
  7. ↑ Asafa Powell wins in Ostrava. Jamaica Gleaner (2013-06-28). Retrieved on 2014-07-31.
  8. ↑ Men's 400 metres Semifinals results. Kazan2013. Retrieved on 2014-07-31.
  9. ↑ Mothowagae, Daniel (2014-06-22). ‘This is your year, Wayde’. City Press. Retrieved on 2014-07-31.

External links