Wayde’s comeback is on track
WAYDE VAN NIEKERK made his comeback to the track over the weekend but it is a case of crawling and walking before he can run the way he did before a knee injury kept him out of action for nearly a year and a half.
The world 400m record holder yesterday said he would focus solely on the one-lap before he would venture into the shorter sprint events.
Van Niekerk opened up about his return from a career-threatening injury at a sponsorship announcement with IT services and consulting company T-Systems SA in Midrand.
On Saturday he took his first steps towards the form that saw him win back-to-back world titles, the Olympic gold medal and smash the world record at the Rio Games in 2016.
He won the 400m at the Free State Championships in Bloemfontein, starting out slow before stepping up a gear over the second half of the race, posting a time of 47.28 seconds.
“It was more a training run, that was our mentality to get out there and test the waters a bit in terms of competitive scenery and get some training in on the track itself,” Van Niekerk said.
“So, it went from a training session to a viral comeback so I guess I have to accept my reality on that, but I would have liked my comeback to look way better than that.”
Van Niekerk said the race was to get the feel for racing conditions but was coy on when he expected to go full throttle.
“To me it was just to get that mental comfort again, to know that I can stand next to other competitors and trying to compete again,” Van Niekerk said.
“My first 200m was extremely rusty, trying to find my feet again and find my momentum again. Once I got that momentum it gave me that confidence that I can stay in it for an entire 400m and we identified a few key areas we need to work on.”
He injured his knee in a tag rugby match in the curtain raiser to the Test between the Springboks and the All Blacks at Newlands in October 2017.
Van Niekerk last competed at the 2017 World Championships in London where he won double medals including back-to-back 400m titles.
He will look to become the second athlete behind American icon Michael Johnson to win three consecutive world titles in the one-lap event at this year’s global showpiece in Doha.
“I will probably be there (Doha), I am working way too hard not to be there, things are going my way and it is going quite well,” Van Niekerk said.
“My team is very patient with me, so I honestly believe I will be there, and I will be able to compete quite well.”