 van Niekerk at the 2017 World Championships | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | South African |
| Born | 15 July 1992[1] Kraaifontein, Cape Province, South Africa |
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[1] |
| Weight | 70 kg (154 lb)[1] |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Track and field |
| Event | Sprints |
| Team | Adidas[2] |
| Coached by | Lance Brauman (2021–present)[3] Anna Botha (2012–2021)[4] |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Highest world ranking | 1st (400m, 2023) [5] |
| Personal bests | |
Medal record | |
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Wayde van Niekerk (South African English: /ˈweɪd fʌn niːˈkɛərk/, Afrikaans: [fan niˈkɛrk]; born 15 July 1992) is a South African track and field sprinter who competes in the 200 and 400 metres. In the 400 metres, he is the current world and Olympic record holder, having set the record when he won the event at the 2016 Olympics.
Van Niekerk was the silver medallist in the 400m at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and took silver in the 4×400 metres relay at the 2013 Summer Universiade. He also represented South Africa at the 2013 and 2015 Athletics World Championships. At the 2015 World Championships, he won the gold medal in the 400 metres. He defended his title two years later, in London, where he also won the silver medal in the 200 metres race.
In the 2016 Olympic Games men's 400m, Van Niekerk won the gold medal with a world record time of 43.03 seconds, beating the time of 43.18 seconds set by Michael Johnson in 1999.[10]
In 2016, Van Niekerk became the first sprinter in history to have run the 100 metres in under 10 seconds, 200 metres in under 20 seconds, and 400 metres in under 44 seconds.[11] In 2017, after a 30.81 seconds victory in the seldom-run 300 metres distance, breaking Michael Johnson's world-best time of 30.85 which was set in 2000, Van Niekerk became the only sprinter in history to have run sub-10, sub-20, sub-31 and sub-44 performances at 100m, 200m, 300m and 400m respectively.[12][13]
- ^ a b c Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Wayde van Niekerk". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 22 December 2017. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
- ^ Chutel, Lynsey; Kazeem, Yomi (5 August 2017). "Usain Bolt says South Africa's Wayde van Niekerk is athletics next superstar". qz.com. Quartz. Archived from the original on 9 May 2021. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
- ^ "Wayde van Niekerk moves from famed coach, heads to U.S." NBC Sports. 19 February 2021. Archived from the original on 27 February 2021. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
- ^ "The 74-year-old coach behind South African's golden run at Rio 2016". cnn.com. CNN. 10 October 2016. Archived from the original on 27 December 2018. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
- ^ "World Rankings | Men's 400m (300m-500m)".
- ^ Ramsak, Bob (20 June 2017). "Van Niekerk clocks 9.94 personal best in Velenje". iaaf.org. IAAF. Archived from the original on 17 September 2018. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
- ^ "Wayde van Niekerk breaks SA 200m record". espn.com. ESPN Internet Ventures. 11 June 2017. Archived from the original on 27 December 2018. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
- ^ Jonkerman, Carlo (28 June 2017). "Van Niekerk outshines Bolt with new 300m record". espn.com. ESPN Internet Ventures. Archived from the original on 27 December 2018. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
- ^ Prior, Ian (15 August 2016). "Wayde van Niekerk smashes Michael Johnson's record to claim 400m gold". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 16 August 2016. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
- ^ Piek, Morgan (5 August 2021). "A comeback for Wayde not impossible". Bloemfontein Courant. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
- ^ "South African sprinter's 'crazy' feat". NewsComAu. Archived from the original on 12 August 2017. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
- ^ "Van Niekerk breaks 300m world best in Ostrava". IAAF. Archived from the original on 7 July 2017. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
- ^ "Men's 300m". www.alltime-athletics.com. Retrieved 17 July 2022.