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Wayde van Niekerk

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Wayde van Niekerk (South African English: /ˈweɪd fʌn niːˈkɛərk/, Afrikaans: [fan niˈkɛrk]; born 15 July 1992) is a South African track and field sprinter who competes in the 200 and 400 metres. In the 400 metres, he is the current world and Olympic record holder, having set the record when he won the event at the 2016 Olympics.

Wayde van Niekerk
van Niekerk at the 2017 World Championships
Personal information
NationalitySouth African
Born (1992-07-15) 15 July 1992 (age 32)[1]
Kraaifontein, Cape Province, South Africa
Height1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Weight70 kg (154 lb)[1]
Sport
SportTrack and field
EventSprints
TeamAdidas[2]
Coached byLance Brauman (2021–present)[3]
Anna Botha (2012–2021)[4]
Achievements and titles
Highest world ranking1st (400m, 2023) [5]
Personal bests
  • 100 m: 9.94 (2017)[6]
  • 200 m: 19.84 (2017)[7]
  • 300 m: 30.81 NB (2017)[8]
  • 400 m: 43.03 WR (2016)[9]
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  South Africa
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2016 Rio de Janeiro 400 m
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2015 Beijing 400 m
Gold medal – first place 2017 London 400 m
Silver medal – second place 2017 London 200 m
African Championships
Gold medal – first place 2016 Durban 200 m
Gold medal – first place 2016 Durban 4×100 m relay
Silver medal – second place 2014 Marrakesh 400 m
Commonwealth Games
Silver medal – second place 2014 Glasgow 400 m
Universiade
Silver medal – second place 2013 Kazan 4×400 m relay
Representing Africa
Continental Cup
Gold medal – first place 2014 Marrakesh 4×400 m relay

Van Niekerk was the silver medallist in the 400m at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and took silver in the 4×400 metres relay at the 2013 Summer Universiade. He also represented South Africa at the 2013 and 2015 Athletics World Championships. At the 2015 World Championships, he won the gold medal in the 400 metres. He defended his title two years later, in London, where he also won the silver medal in the 200 metres race.

In the 2016 Olympic Games men's 400m, Van Niekerk won the gold medal with a world record time of 43.03 seconds, beating the time of 43.18 seconds set by Michael Johnson in 1999.[10]

In 2016, Van Niekerk became the first sprinter in history to have run the 100 metres in under 10 seconds, 200 metres in under 20 seconds, and 400 metres in under 44 seconds.[11] In 2017, after a 30.81 seconds victory in the seldom-run 300 metres distance, breaking Michael Johnson's world-best time of 30.85 which was set in 2000, Van Niekerk became the only sprinter in history to have run sub-10, sub-20, sub-31 and sub-44 performances at 100m, 200m, 300m and 400m respectively.[12][13]

Early life

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Van Niekerk was born in Cape Town to Wayne van Niekerk and sprinter Odessa Swarts (née Krause).[14][15] He was born prematurely and needed a blood transfusion.[16] Van Niekerk attended Bellville Primary[17] and Simonberg Primary[18] until he and his mother moved to Bloemfontein in 2005.[15] There he went to Grey College before going on to study marketing at the University of the Free State.[19]

Career

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He made his international debut at the 2010 World Junior Championships in Athletics, where he placed fourth in the 200m 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.[20] His senior breakthrough came at the age of eighteen at the 2011 South African Athletics Championships when he won the 200m title in a new personal best time of 20.57 seconds.[21] He competed in the same 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 time of 46.43 seconds.[22]

The 2013 season marked Van Niekerk's emergence as a 400m 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.[23] 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.[24] He entered the 400 metres at the 2013 Summer Universiade and narrowly missed out on the final as the fastest non-qualifier.[25] 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 silver. His performances earned him a place in the 400m at the 2013 World Championships, where he did not progress past the heats.[20]

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. His time of 44.38 seconds was a new South African record, bettering Arnaud Malherbe and Hendrick Mokganyetsi's shared record from March 1999 and September 2000, respectively.[26] A 200m best of 20.19 seconds followed by a fourth-place finish at the Athletissima meet.[22] He entered both sprint events at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and won his first individual senior medal over 400m, 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 200m but did not repeat his success of the longer sprint.[27]

2015 was the start of Van Niekerk's status as a sprinting phenom. On July 4, 2015, Van Niekerk lowered his South African record to below 44 seconds with a 43.96 at the Meeting Areva and ranked himself in the all-time top 12 whilst beating Kirani James for the first time. Ten days later, on July 14, 2015, he won a 200m race at the Luzern Spitzen Leichtathletik in 19.94 seconds, his first 200m run under 20 seconds. This also made him the second man in history to have gone under 20 seconds for the 200m and 44 seconds for the 400m. A month later, Van Niekerk represented South Africa at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics, focusing solely on the 400m. Winning his heat, Van Niekerk beat LaShawn Merritt, with the defending champion taking second. The results repeated in the final, as he won gold in 43.48 seconds, making him the fourth-fastest runner of all time, ahead of Merritt who was running his personal best as the sixth-fastest in 43.65.[28] Kirani James finished third in 43.78 seconds, a season's best.

On 12 March 2016, Van Niekerk became the 107th athlete to break the 10-second barrier in the 100 metres. That made him the first individual to break 10 seconds for 100 metres, 20 seconds for 200 metres, and 44 seconds for 400 metres.[29] Van Niekerk qualified for the 2016 Summer Olympics and was the flag bearer for South Africa.[30]

Van Niekerk won the gold medal in the 400 metres at the 2016 Summer Olympics with a world record[31] time of 43.03 seconds, breaking Michael Johnson's set at the 1999 World Championships in Athletics. His reaction time was 0.181 s[32] and he was aged 24 years and 30 days. Van Niekerk became the only man to have won the Olympic or world 400 metres from lane eight: usually, runners in this lane are at a disadvantage due to the staggered start.[33] Van Niekerk's Olympic win set off a racial debate after a tweet storm when Coloured South Africans celebrated his win by creating a hashtag #ColouredExcellence. In November, he won the Association of National Olympic Committees Best Male Athlete of the Rio 2016 Olympics award.[34]

On 8 August 2017, Van Niekerk successfully defended his 400 metres world title at the 2017 World Championships in Athletics in London with a time of 43.98 seconds. Two days later, he finished second in the 200m in 20.11 seconds at the World Championships. He became the first South African athlete to land two individual sprint medals at a single meet.

On 31 October 2017, Van Niekerk participated in a celebrity-funded rugby match sponsored by FC soccer. During this match, he made an inverted cut and tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). He began treatment immediately after surgery, and due to this injury, he was unable to attend any meets during 2018.[35] Van Niekerk had been in intense rehabilitation throughout 2018, to prepare himself for the beginning of the 2019 season and 2020 Tokyo Olympics.[36] On 31 May 2019, it was announced that he would run at the IAAF Diamond League event in London in July, his first major race since his comeback from injury.[37] He did not eventually compete in the 2019 World Championships and failed to reach the 400m final in the 2020 Olympic Games but finished 5th in the 400m final in the 2022 World Championships.

Van Niekerk was coached by Ans Botha, known to her athletes as Tannie Ans, Afrikaans for Aunty Ans, until 2021.[38][39] His manager is Peet van Zyl.[40] In 2021 he moved to the United States to train with the Pure Athletics training group in Florida, coached by Lance Brauman.[3][41]

Personal life

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Van Niekerk married Chesney Campbell on 29 October 2017. He is the cousin of South African World Cup-winning rugby union and rugby sevens player Cheslin Kolbe.[42] He first started using his speed while playing rugby in junior school in Cape Town. He and his cousin, Kolbe, were on the same team. More than 12 years later, they were both in the South African Olympic Team in Rio, with Kolbe playing in the Sevens.[40]

Van Niekerk's biological parents are divorced, and he was living with his mother, Odessa Swarts and step-father Steven Swarts, in Bloemfontein as of 2016.[15] His sister, Kayla Swarts, also is an international hockey player at the FIH Nations Cup[43][44] and at Junior Africa cup.[45][46][47]

He is a Christian, tweeting "Jesus Did It" and "GOD IS POWER" after setting the world record for the 400 metres.[48]

Statistics

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Information from World Athletics profile, unless otherwise noted.[49]

Personal bests

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Event Time Venue Date Notes
100 m 9.94 Velenje, Slovenia 20 June 2017
200 m 19.84 Kingston, Jamaica 10 June 2017 Former NR
300 m 30.81 Ostrava, Czech Republic 28 June 2017 National Best
400 m 43.03 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 14 August 2016 WR, OR
4×100 m relay 38.84 Durban, South Africa 24 June 2016
4×400 m relay 3:00.02 Marrakesh, Morocco 14 September 2014

400 metres world record split times

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2.5
5
7.5
10
12.5
15
0–100 m
100–200 m
200–300 m
300–400 m

Van Niekerk ran the opening 200 metres in 20.54 seconds and the closing 200 metres in 22.49 seconds, giving a differential of 1.95 seconds. The 100-metre-long-section beginning after the first 100 metres was completed in 9.78 seconds.[50]

International championship results

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Year Competition Venue Position Event Time Notes
Representing   South Africa and   Africa (Continental Cup only)
2010 World Junior Championships Moncton, New Brunswick 4th 200 m 21.02 PB
11th 4×100 m relay 40.32 PB
2011 African Junior Championships Gaborone, Botswana DNF 200 m —
2013 Universiade Kazan, Russia 9th 400 m 46.39
2nd 4×400 m relay 3:06.19 PB
World Championships Moscow, Russia 26th 400 m 46.37
2014 Commonwealth Games Glasgow, Scotland 2nd 400 m 44.68
13th 200 m 20.69
African Championships Marrakesh, Morocco 2nd 400 m 45.00
2014 Continental Cup Marrakesh, Morocco 4th 400 m 45.27
1st 4×400 m relay 3:00.02 PB
2015 World Championships Beijing, China 1st 400 m 43.48 WL, NR, PB
2016 African Championships Durban, South Africa 1st 4×100 m relay 38.84 PB
1st 200 m 20.02 SB
Olympic Games Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 1st 400 m 43.03 WR, OR
2017 World Championships London, England 1st 400 m 43.98
2nd 200 m 20.11
2021 Olympic Games Tokyo, Japan 12th (sf) 400 m 45.14
2022 World Championships Eugene, United States 5th 400 m 44.97
2023 World Championships Budapest, Hungary 7th 400 m 45.11
2024 Olympic Games Paris, France 20th (sf) 200 m 20.72

Circuit wins

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Seasonal bests

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The three highlighted times are track records. Van Niekerk also holds a fourth track record. He ran 43.73 seconds at Monaco in July 2017.

Year 200 metres 400 metres
2010 21.02 —
2011 20.57 —
2012 20.91 46.43
2013 20.84 45.09
2014 20.19 44.38
2015 19.94 43.48 (Beijing)
2016 20.02 43.03 (Rio de Janeiro)
2017 19.84 43.62 (Lausanne)
2018 — —
2019 — 47.28
2020 20.31 45.58
2021 20.38 44.56
2022 — 44.33
2023 — 44.08 <diamond league silesia>

National titles

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  • South African Championships
    • 200 metres: 2011, 2017, 2021
    • 400 metres: 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016
  • South African Junior Championships
    • 100 metres: 2011
    • 200 metres: 2011

Track records

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As of 20 September 2024, Van Niekerk holds the following track records for 100 metres, 200 metres and 400 metres.

A performance in red text was wind-assisted.


100 metres

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Location Time Windspeed
m/s 		Date
Bloemfontein 9.98 + 1.5 12/03/2016
Polokwane 9.98 + 4.3 29/04/2016
Velenje 9.94
PB		 + 0.9 20/06/2017


200 metres

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Location Time Windspeed
m/s 		Date
Potchefstroom 19.90 + 0.5 22/04/2017
Poznań 20.23 + 2.1 23/06/2024


400 metres

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Location Time Date
Beijing 43.48 26/08/2015
Bellinzona 44.33 12/09/2022
Bloemfontein 44.11 06/05/2016
Chorzów 44.08 16/07/2023
Kingston, Jamaica 44.21 03/06/2023
Lausanne 43.62 06/07/2017
Marietta 44.58 02/07/2022
Monaco 43.73 21/07/2017
Potchefstroom 44.17 01/04/2023
Rio de Janeiro 43.03
WR		 14/08/2016
Somerville 44.28 17/06/2016
Stellenbosch 44.91 18/04/2015

References

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  2. ^ Chutel, Lynsey; Kazeem, Yomi (5 August 2017). "Usain Bolt says South Africa's Wayde van Niekerk is athletics next superstar". qz.com. Quartz. Archived from the original on 9 May 2021. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  3. ^ a b "Wayde van Niekerk moves from famed coach, heads to U.S." NBC Sports. 19 February 2021. Archived from the original on 27 February 2021. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  4. ^ "The 74-year-old coach behind South African's golden run at Rio 2016". cnn.com. CNN. 10 October 2016. Archived from the original on 27 December 2018. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
  5. ^ "World Rankings | Men's 400m (300m-500m)".
  6. ^ Ramsak, Bob (20 June 2017). "Van Niekerk clocks 9.94 personal best in Velenje". iaaf.org. IAAF. Archived from the original on 17 September 2018. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
  7. ^ "Wayde van Niekerk breaks SA 200m record". espn.com. ESPN Internet Ventures. 11 June 2017. Archived from the original on 27 December 2018. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
  8. ^ Jonkerman, Carlo (28 June 2017). "Van Niekerk outshines Bolt with new 300m record". espn.com. ESPN Internet Ventures. Archived from the original on 27 December 2018. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
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  10. ^ Piek, Morgan (5 August 2021). "A comeback for Wayde not impossible". Bloemfontein Courant. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
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  14. ^ du Plessis, Clement. "How Wayde's mom blazed the trail for her son". News24. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
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  18. ^ "Wayde van Niekerk's primary school brims with pride". Archived from the original on 4 February 2020. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
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  24. ^ Asafa Powell wins in Ostrava Archived 9 October 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Jamaica Gleaner (28 June 2013). Retrieved 31 July 2014.
  25. ^ Men's 400 metres Semifinals results[permanent dead link]. Kazan2013. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
  26. ^ Mothowagae, Daniel (22 June 2014). ‘This is your year, Wayde’. City Press.South Africa Retrieved 31 July 2014.
  27. ^ Wayde Van Niekerk Archived 17 September 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Glasgow2014. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
  28. ^ "Van Niekerk wins gold for Team SA". Archived from the original on 9 October 2019. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  29. ^ "SA's Van Niekerk makes sprint history". Archived from the original on 9 October 2019. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  30. ^ "Wayde, Zanele named as SA flagbearers at Rio send-off – SASCOC – SASCOC". Archived from the original on 29 June 2018. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  31. ^ "Rio 2016: Van Niekerk breaks world record to win 400m gold". OmRiyadat English. Archived from the original on 17 September 2016. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  32. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 September 2016. Retrieved 15 August 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  33. ^ "Rio Olympics 2016: Wayde van Niekerk breaks world record to win Olympic gold". BBC Sport. 14 August 2016. Archived from the original on 15 August 2016. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  34. ^ "Wayde on top of the world again | Cape Times". Archived from the original on 17 November 2016. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  35. ^ "Wayde Van Niekerk Tears ACL During Celebrity Rugby Match, Out Six Months". 31 October 2017. Archived from the original on 1 February 2018. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  36. ^ "Olympic champion Wayde van Niekerk sets sights on Doha". Olympic Channel. Archived from the original on 26 November 2020. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
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  38. ^ "Meet the great-grandmother coach behind Wayde van Niekerk". Archived from the original on 16 August 2016. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  39. ^ Crouse, Karen (15 August 2016). "This Great-Grandmother Coaches an Olympic Champion. Now Let Her By". International New York Times. Archived from the original on 16 August 2016. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  40. ^ a b "World all-time 300m list". iaaf.org. Archived from the original on 28 June 2017. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  41. ^ "Moore joins top American Coach Lance Brauman's Pure Athletics Club". Jamaica Observer. 8 April 2021. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  42. ^ "Twee neefs soek goud". Netwerk24 (in Afrikaans). 16 July 2016. Archived from the original on 9 October 2019. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
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  44. ^ "SOUTH AFRICAN WOMEN'S HOCKEY SQUADS HAVE BEEN SELECTED". sasportspress.co.za. SA Sports Press. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  45. ^ "South African Women's U21 team named for the African Qualifier | SA Hockey Association". Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  46. ^ Abrahams, Celine (7 June 2020). "gsport4girls - Kayla Swarts Running Her Own Race". gsport4girls. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  47. ^ Jager, Johann de. "Wayde se suster haal SA vrouehokkiespan". Netwerk24 (in Afrikaans). Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  48. ^ "Wayde van Niekerk glorifies God after winning men's 400m: 'JESUS DID IT' – Christian News on Christian Today". 15 August 2016. Archived from the original on 16 August 2016. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  49. ^ "ATHLETE PROFILE Wayde VAN NIEKERK". World Athletics. Archived from the original on 8 April 2019. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  50. ^ Vazel, Pierre-Jean (15 August 2016). "How van Niekirk broke the 400m world record". track-stats.com. Archived from the original on 16 August 2017. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
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Records
Preceded by Men's 400 metres world record holder
14 August 2016 – present 		Incumbent
Preceded by Men's 400 metres African record holder
26 August 2015 – present 		Incumbent
Achievements
Preceded by Men's 400 metres season's best
2015, 2016, 2017 		Succeeded by
Awards
Preceded by Men's Track & Field News Athlete of the Year
2016 		Succeeded by
Olympic Games
Preceded by Flagbearer for   South Africa
Rio de Janeiro 2016 		Succeeded by
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