WONDERKID WAYDE
If it seemed as though there were miles between Wayde van Niekerk and his closest competition on Tuesday — well, that wasn’t so far from the truth.
On a chilly evening in which the South African sprinter eased up before the finish line and still won his second straight 400-metre world title by .43 seconds, the man who was expected to give him the toughest test wasn’t even allowed in the stadium.
The stomach virus that hit a number of athletes at the world championships earlier in the week morphed into a full-fledged mess a few hours before the 400 final, when video surfaced of Isaac Makwala of Botswana — who has pushed Van Niekerk in races all season — being escorted away from the athletes’ entrance to the stadium.
Makwala insisted he felt fine. But he vomited on Monday before the heats of his other race, the 200 metres, and the IAAF said doctors checked him, determined he had norovirus and, as per the recommendation of health regulators in Britain, told him he had to stay off the premises for 48 hours.
“I came here for a medal,” a healthy looking Makwala said in an interview with BBC Sports. “Some people force you to withdraw. I’m OK to run, but someone’s saying you can’t run. It’s a bad thing.”
The IAAF put out its own statement defending the decision, saying it “is very sorry that the hard work and talent of Isaac Makwala won’t be on display tonight (Tuesday) but we have to think of the welfare of all athletes.”
But that was hardly the end of the debate.
Social media erupted with second-guessing and hypotheticals, including: What would the IAAF have done if this had been Usain Bolt? And, What’s the use of telling someone you’re sick when they’re just going to bar you from the stadium?
The innocent bystander was Van Niekerk, who, truth be told, would’ve been favoured to win this race had Makwala been there anyway. He is the world-record holder and Olympic champion and is being touted as the planet’s greatest sprinter in a post-Bolt world.
Van Niekerk won the race in a pedestrian-for-him 43.98 seconds, which was still two full paces ahead of silver and bronze medalists Steven Gardiner and Abdalelah Haroun.
“It was just definitely a heartbreaking moment,” Van Niekerk said. “I saw him just before the 200-metre heat and the only thing I could think of was wrapping my arms around him and telling him to get well soon. As much as you want to leave with gold medals, you want to go out there with the best guys also out there.”
Makwala wasn’t the only top runner missing.
Minutes before her heat in the 200 metres was to start, Tori Bowie withdrew. The American was in the stadium and went through warm-ups, but the scrapes and bruises on her hip from the dive over the line in her 100-metre victory two nights before hadn’t healed enough for her to race again. Her status for the relays on Friday and Saturday was to be determined.
Also missing was David Rudisha of Kenya, the world-record holder at 800 metres who pulled out last week with a leg injury — a move that turned the event into a free-for-all. Pierre-Ambroise Bosse of France wound up with the gold. —
As much as you want to leave with gold medals, you want to go out there with the best guys also out there
Wayde van Niekerk
Some people force you to withdraw. I’m OK to run, but someone’s saying you can’t run
Isaac Makwala