Wayde cruises in 400m heats
HE thrilled the world in Beijing last year, and now Wayde van Niekerk has launched his assault on a gold medal at the Rio Olympics.
The 23-year-old 400m world champion from Bloemfontein — via Cape Town — began his journey to what he hopes will be a golden moment once more with an easy victory in heat three at the Olympic Stadium on Saturday morning SA time.
Van Niekerk clocked a reasonable time of 45.26, but it was the manner in which he achieved the win that was telling. He was up against a decent field that included the likes of Luguelín Santos of the Dominican Republic and Javon Francis of Jamaica, but they were no match for the South African.
Known for his fast starts, Van Niekerk was quick out of the blocks and took the bend in first place, and never relinquished that advantage as he virtually jogged the last 50 metres on the home straight to cross the finish line well ahead of the rest.
Santos followed in second in 45.61, with Francis third in 45.88 — the top three in each heat go through to the semi-finals, which start at 1.30am SA time on Sunday morning.
Defending Olympic champion Kirani James of Grenada was the fastest qualifier with 44.93, with Machel Cedenio of Trinidad and Tobago the only other athlete to run a sub-45 second time (44.98).
American star LaShawn Merritt won his heat as well in 45.28 to advance in 11th position.
Van Niekerk went through as the eighth-fastest, but that doesn’t matter at this stage. He had plenty left in reserve, and the real racing will start in the semi-finals, so ensure passage to the final at 3am SA time on Monday. — Online