The 25-year-old South African last year bettered Michael Johnson’s 400m world record as he won Olympic gold in 43.03 seconds. Now he is adding the 200m in London as he attempts to emulate Johnson’s double from the 1995 worlds and 1996 Olympics.
American Johnson, who he finally met briefly earlier in the year, and outgoing sprint superstar Usain Bolt have named Van Niekirk as the man who can become the new face of the sport.
“It’s a massive honour to learn and rub shoulders with Usain. I had the opportunity to build a small relationship. It gives me a lot of excitement but at the same time a lot of responsibility,” Van Niekerk told reporters on a rainy afternoon.
The two are different personalities, with Van Niekerk a little quieter than the flamboyant Bolt, a fact his long-time coach Anna Botha, aged 75, also points out.
But she insisted that Van Niekerk is as hungry for success as Bolt and is in London “to win two gold medals. He is not here for bronze”.
Van Niekerk said he was ready for the gruelling schedule in London from Saturday onwards, with three rounds each in the 400m (where he is the title holder from 2015) and the following 200m — where he won’t be racing Bolt because the Jamaican is concentrating on the 100m in his final big event.
“The biggest challenge is to finally apply it. It’s a big challenge for myself,” he said. “I am in my best shape and can do great things. I have to take it round by round, step by step.”
He is certainly capable of achieving the double as he is the only man in the world who has run the 100m below 10 seconds, the 200m sub-19 and the 400m faster than 44 seconds — lowering his 100m and 200m personal bests to 9.94 and 19.84 seconds respectively.
Van Niekerk is the fastest 400m runner this year with 43.62 seconds but only second in the 200m list behind Botswana runner Isaac Motswala who has 19.77 and is also doing the 200m/400m double in London.
“Isaac is a big competitor. I have a lot of respect for him, he keeps me on my toes,” Van Niekerk said.
He readily admitted he can still improve on all fronts in his sport, saying that “athletics-wise I still have a lot to do” as he suggested he can run even faster.
And with that will come more attention and responsibility, as “the person I am and will be will develop. I enjoy learning and like to be in a challenging situation.”
And he certainly is enjoying the challenge which showed when he answered a “Carl Lewis or Michael Johnson?” question by not picking either of the two great Americans. “Wayde van Niekerk,” he said instead.
