Humble Wayde hopes to scale Bolt’s heights
WAYDE van Niekerk said last night he would not bask in the glow of being dubbed the next big track star by Olympic star Usain Bolt, but instead vowed to work hard to live his dream.
He was speaking at a media conference, a day after one by Bolt where the Jamaican had tipped the 400m world recordholder to become the sport’s next global headline act.
Van Niekerk did not quite pull the numbers Bolt did, but he still had a packed audience at the small venue in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
It was a far cry from the last world championships, in Beijing two years ago, when just a colleague and I interviewed Van Niekerk at his hotel.
Now the interest is too high for such intimate opportunities – and there are also set time limits.
Then, Beijing, he was looking to make the podium, now he is trying to become the second man after Michael Johnson to win the 400m and 200m double at a world championships.
Van Niekerk said greatness could not be passed on by Bolt’s pronouncements.
“It is one thing someone saying he can be the next great thing, but it’s another thing working for that greatness,” Van Niekerk, who begins the defence of his 400m crown on Saturday, said.
“This is a dream I need to fight for – and I need to fight for it as hard as I can.
He joked that he owed Bolt for the compliments he had been paid of late.
“He told me he’ll send my invoice, because he’s been putting me out there quite a lot. It’s an honour to learn and rub shoulders with a great like Usain.
“His impact on the sport has been massive – and now I’m having the opportunity to build a small relationship with him and I continue my journey.
“It gives me a lot of excitement to see what lies in store for me but, at the same time, I know there’s a lot of responsibility for me to go out there and work for where I want to be.”
Asked if he would have liked to have raced against Bolt, Van Niekerk said: “Obviously, he is a great athlete, but it was definitely going to be a tough race because I [would be doing] 100s and 200s against him and that is where he specialises and that’s where I still need to work on.
“Eventually, I’d love to reach the heights that Usain has.”
Van Niekerk has always been torn between the 400m – an event the South African star hates but has excelled at – and the 200m and 100m races that he loves, but he could not see himself dropping the one-lap from his roster, even if he were to dip under 43 seconds.
“The 400m is a very difficult topic for me. It brought me to where I am today – so I will be stupid to let it go and let it slip.
“But at the same time, I wish I could have left it and focused on the 100m and the 200m. But I don’t think I would just because of the fact that I’m doing so great in the event,” he said.
“I don’t think I really have a benchmark, but at the same time I would like to see growth in the 100s and 200s as well.
“If I mention growth, I want to compete against No 1 and No 2 in the world – and that is throughout all the distances that I do,” Van Niekerk said.