No fuss for Wayde in half-lap sprint
THE way in which Wayde van Niekerk attacks the bend in a 400m race is something to behold.
But yesterday in Potchefstroom, he had to start on the bend in the 200m at a league meeting of Athletics Central North West.
No problem, though, for the 400m Olympic champion and world record-holder.
As he builds up to the Tokyo Olympics, Van Niekerk began his local season with a half-lap race to do some speed work, and he was impressive from the start.
The 28-year-old stormed out of the blocks and was quickly into his stride at the NWU McArthur Stadium – with the event livestreamed by Squared Sports on YouTube – and he was far in front as he headed into the final straight.
Van Niekerk pushed hard all the way to the finish line, and stopped the clock at 20.64 seconds, into a strong wind. It is well short of his personal best of 19.84, but at this stage of the season, all that matters is that he completed the race without any fuss.
He has said previously that he is unlikely to compete in the 100m and 200m at the Tokyo Olympics, as he wants to concentrate on defending his 400m gold medal, but Van Niekerk could be a valuable ally in the SA 4x100m relay team in
Japan.
He is still awaiting clearance documents to travel to the US, where he will train with 200m star Noah Lyles and his coach Lance Brauman, having recently parted ways with his long-standing coach ‘Tannie’ Ans Botha.
Earlier in Roodepoort, Akani Simbine fell just short of breaking the 10-second barrier, but he can be well pleased with his seasonopening performance in the 100 metres.
The 2018 Commonwealth Games champion, running in the Athletics SA Athletix Invitational Meet, clocked 10 seconds flat to claim victory at the Ruimsig Athletics Stadium.
Simbine’s coach Werner Prinsloo told Independent Media last week that his star athlete was aiming to just get going again after a long break due to Covid-19, which saw him last run in Europe in September 2020.
The 27-year-old has been training since last November, and was keen to get back on to the track ahead of the international season. His winning time (with a +2.1m/s wind) was comfortably ahead of Luxolo Adams, who also ran a quick mark of 10.08 yesterday, with third place shared by Duke Kuali and Zimbabwean Ngoni Makusha (10.27).
Simbine is likely to be in action again later this week at the Athletics Gauteng North provincial championships at TUKS Stadium in Pretoria, which takes place tomorrow and Friday.