Wayde’s double gold dream possible
Van Niekerk’s latest feat suggests he is ready to lift 200, 400m in London
Having completed a cycle of dipping under the magical barriers across all sprints, Wayde van Niekerk’s dream of claiming a rare World Championships double gold in the 200 and 400m remains a reality.
With his smashing run in Ostrava, Czech Republic, on Wednesday, “Wayde Dreamer” became the first man in history to go sub-10 for 100m; sub-20 for 200m; sub31 for 300; and sub-44 for 400m.
Here we look at the five reasons why the 24-year-old will light up London in a month’s time.
With two sub-20 second times already – though his initial 19.84 in Boston, US, early this month was not run on an official track – fact is, Van Niekerk replicated the time within a week when he set the new SA record at the Racers Grand Prix in Jamaica on June 10.
That Usain Bolt will only contest one individual event, the 100m, at the global championships, makes the 200m anybody’s race. LaShawn Merritt of the US failed to make the cut in the US team’s 200m squad.
The real competitors over the one-lap, Merritt and Kirani James of Grenada, have always come short behind Van Niekerk.
Fact is, van Niekerk’s strength lies on the back straight and that’s a phase he has mastered with ease, regardless of which lane he starts in.
With his sheer speed and positive attitude towards races, Van Niekerk wins the race before he even laces up his running spikes. He promised to be “ridiculous” prior to the Ostrava meeting and he did, shattering yet another Michael Johnson record with his 30.81 win on Wednesday.
The fact that Van Niekerk is tipped as apparent heir to Bolt’s throne, and the Jamaican star consistently reminding him ‘you can be the best in the world’, is the major driving force behind the SA champ’s exploits.