History will be judge of track star Van Niekerk
HISTORY can be cruel. Wayde van Niekerk’s bid for a rare 400m-200m double in London was denied by a man achieving even greater antiquity.
It had been 22 years since US legend Michael Johnson became the only person to scoop that double at a world championships‚ back in 1995 when Van Niekerk was three.
The South African star – having broken Johnson’s 400m world record at the Rio Olympics last year as well as his 300m world best in June – fell short by just two-hundredths of a second in the 200m on Thursday night at the IAAF World Championships.
Ahead of him, Ramil Guliyev claimed Turkey’s first gold medal since the championships started in its current form in 1983‚ or seven years before Guliyev was born.
Had Van Niekerk been successful in his quest‚ the details of his double would have come under scrutiny and compared to Johnson’s.
Van Niekerk competed over six straight days in the 400m heats‚ 400m semifinals‚ 200m heats‚ 400m final‚ 200m semifinals and 200m final.
Johnson raced over seven days‚ with one rest day. Back then‚ however‚ the sprinters had four rounds‚ so he went 400m heats‚ 400m quarterfinals‚ 400m semifinals‚ rest day‚ 400m final‚ 200m heats and quarterfinals‚ 200m semifinals and final.
Van Niekerk’s personal bests in the two events are 43.03sec and 19.84‚ although his times in London were 43.98 and 20.11 – and Johnson’s winning times were 43.39 and 19.79.
Had Van Niekerk time-travelled to 1995 and taken Johnson’s place in the finals of both races‚ his London times would have been good enough for gold‚ faster than silver medallists Butch Reynolds and Frankie Fredericks‚ both the second-fastest men over those distances of in those days.
Johnson was a TV commentator in London and went on the attack over the absence of Botswana star Isaac Makwala from the 400m‚ effectively painting Van Niekerk in a tainted light.
Makwala was forced out of the final after he fell ill with what was believed to have been a case of the infectious norovirus‚ which causes nausea and diarrhoea‚ but more seriously, leads to 50 000 child deaths globally every year.
Makwala was under quarantine for the 400m final. Johnson had spawned a conspiracy that the world governing body‚ the IAAF‚ was doing this to protect Van Niekerk‚ Usain Bolt’s anointed successor.
Makwala claimed the 400m was his better event and that he would have won a medal.
Johnson is smart‚ but he can get things horribly wrong‚ like when he predicted Bolt was not proficient enough to break his 200m world record at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Bolt beat his record by twohundredths of a second.
Any athletics brain will tell you that Makwala was never going to be a major factor for Van Niekerk. A medal‚ possibly. Gold‚ no. Just look at his history. Makwala‚ who turns 31 next month‚ is not a championship runner‚ having proven he is incapable of going through rounds and delivering in finals‚ with the exception of the African championships.
He went into the last world championships in Beijing in 2015 with a 43.72 world lead‚ and even clocked the fastest time in the semifinals.
In the final, he ended fifth‚ more than a second behind the victorious Van Niekerk.
At his only other world championships at Berlin 2009‚ and at the London 2012 Olympics‚ he did not get past the heats.
In Rio, he did not progress beyond the semifinals.
In their only 400m tussle this year – in Monaco last month – Van Niekerk toyed with Makwala before hauling him in on the home straight for a comfortable win.
In London, Makwala and Jereem Richards of Trinidad and Tobago shared the secondbest time in the 200m semifinals. In the final, Makwala ended sixth, while Richards took the bronze – it was business as usual.
Makwala was never going to win the 400m or the 200m.
Asked what he thought of Johnson’s theory‚ Van Niekerk simply said: “I guess that’s unlucky for him, then.”
Hopefully Van Niekerk will be judged a little more kindly by history than he was by Johnson and Makwala.