World record not priority, my build-up’s going fine – Wayde

BREAKING the 400m world record may not be his primary goal but South African sprinting sensation Wayde van Niekerk’s stellar progress suggests the mark could be within his reach.

The world champion’s star quality is highlighted by the fact that he is the only athlete to boast a sub-10 in the 100m, a sub20 in the 200m, and a sub-44 in the 400m.

Although breaking Michael Johnson’s record of 43.18 seconds in the 400m would be an incredible feat, Van Niekerk’s focus will be on winning a gold medal at the Rio Olympics in August.

“My goal is to get consistency and growth, and when I talk about consistency, it is repeating what I’ve done last year, and growth is in my times as an athlete,” said Van Niekerk, pictured right.

“I’ve been asked that question a lot but if you look at the time it is Michael Johnson’s name that is there, it is his record, and that is his story.

“I am just going out there to try and improve my time, improve as a person and grow as an athlete, if I can end this year in my personal story... that I’ve got the world record... then I will be more than grateful for that.”

Van Niekerk was only seven years old when Johnson blitzed to the world-record time of 43.18 seconds at the Seville World Championships in 1999.

Sixteen years later and Van Niekerk would get a step closer to that record, clocking the sixth-fastest time ever of 43.48, to clinch the 400m world title in Beijing last year.

With the exception of a niggling back injury, Van Niekerk’s preparations for the Olympics have gone according to plan.

“The main goal is the European season, that is where we need to perform, that is where we are competing against the world’s best, that is where we need to run times, and get momentum for the Olympics,” Van Niekerk said.

“At this moment I am in a very comfortable and confident position and I am happy with my performance so far.

“I’m grateful for the opportunity where I could do a few 100 metres races this year, it was something fun for me, and something away from the 400m.”

Van Niekerk clocked the second fastest time in the world this year at the Athletics South Africa Open Championships in Bloemfontein last weekend when he posted a time of 44.11 seconds in the longer race.

The time is just 0.03 seconds slower than Olympic gold medallist Kirani James’ world-leading time of 44.08 for 2016.

Van Niekerk, 23, said he was still in the early stages of his build-up to the Games, and he was set to kick it up a notch on the European circuit.

“I’ve only started doing my serious training recently, and obviously we are trying to peak for Olympics and not for South African competitions,” Van Niekerk said.

“It is about getting momentum into Europe and that is where we try to destroy and dominate, that is just the way things are planned at the moment.”