Wayde van Niekerk bags another world record
ALSO INSIDE: Women of Wimbledon, P25 Lions mull locks, P25 Miller in SA A squad, P27 WAYDE VAN NIEKERK had vowed to produce the “ridiculous” at the Golden Spike meeting in Ostrava last night.
Indeed he made it look ridiculously simple as he set a new world record in the seldom-run 300m race, erasing a 17-yearold mark established by American Michael Johnson in Pretoria.
Bloemfontein-based Van Niekerk looked as pleased as punch as he did the obligatory pose with the stadium clock showing his new standard of 30.81 seconds last night. And one couldn’t help wondering just how much the South African can still achieve.
Van Niekerk knocked 0.04sec off the time Johnson had run on the Highveld back in 2000.
Blitzing past Jamaican legend Usain Bolt and Johnson on the all-time list, Van Niekerk improved his previous African mark of 31.03sec.
Racing ahead of Bolt’s first European race of the season in the 100m at the same meeting last night (which he too won easily), Van Niekerk also erased the Jamaican’s meet record in the 300m to highlight a changing of the guard. Bolt is widely expected to retire later this year.
Lining up next to Van Niekerk in last night’s 300m race, compatriot Clarence Munyai smashed his South African 300m junior mark in what appears to be a new world junior best of 31.61.
The previous world junior best of 32.08 held by America’s Steve Lewis’ was posted in a one-lap (400m) race. Munyai took more than a second off the national junior best of 32.87 he clocked earlier this year.
On the eve of the meeting Van Niekerk told media he would take a stab at Johnson’s world best.
“It’s not really an official event, so I’m going to go out there and be ridiculous... I’ve got nothing to lose,” Van Niekerk said.
“It’s the only 300m of the year... I’ll try and give you a show.”
Van Niekerk is making a habit of erasing Johnson’s global marks – he smashed American’s 400m record at last year’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
He ran an incredible 43.03sec at the Olympics, knocking 0.15 off Johnson’s previous mark.
The South African is making the strongest possible statement that he is the heir apparent to Bolt’s throne as the world’s sprint king. Boasting personal bests of 9.94 seconds in the 100m and 19.84 in the 200m, Van Niekerk has proven his incredible ability over the shorter distances too. He is the only man to have gone under 10, 20, 31, and 44sec in the 100, 200, 300, and 400m distances.
It also proved to be a breakthrough evening for 100m hurdles ace Rikenette Steenkamp, who dipped below 13 seconds for the first time. Steenkamp finished second in her short hurdles final, posting a new personal best of 12.99 to edge her within 0.05sec of Corien Botha’s national record.