Usain Bolt, fresh from winning an unprecedented third consecutive Olympic 100m gold, said he was open to racing newly-appointed world 400m record holder Wayde van Niekerk over 300m.
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But Wayde van Niekerk offered his embattled sport some hope for the future beyond the Jamaican’s impending retirement with a remarkable world record on the Rio track.
So the fact that van Niekerk is this accomplished in all three events is extremely impressive. Fans want World Records from him. Niekerk completed the single lap in 43:03 seconds, beating the previous record set Michael Johnson by 0.15 seconds.
“I was running blind all the way”, Van Niekerk explained.
“I had no pressure, that’s how awesome each and every one was in South Africa in supporting me”.
“His performance has been sensational and we are proud of our first gold medal and I am confident this has unleashed a string of more medals to come”.
“Thinking back to where I was four years ago, it shows anything is possible for anyone that believes”.
“I went on my knees each and every day and asked the Lord to take care of me”. “I’m very grateful my coach has pushed me to the limit”.
“Well at this moment my heart is still pounding, it’s still very unreal”. I just went for it. The South African’s 43.04 bested a 17-year-old record set by Michael Johnson in Seville in 1999. Van Niekerk finished in 43.03 seconds – 0.15 seconds faster than Johnson ran on August 26, 1999, in Seville, Spain.
“It was incredible. To be honest, I’m just happy to be part of history”, said silver medallist James, the 2012 London champion.
He first found his family in the crowd and embraces before doing a slow circuit of the adoring crowd draped in the South African flag.
Van Niekerk also trained for a while in Jamaica, where he met Usain Bolt, who won his seventh gold medal just minutes after the South African won his first.
“Obviously I use these guys as an inspiration and motivation as an athlete”, Van Niekerk added.
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“Oh my God! From lane eight, a world record”, Johnson said in his function as BBC pundit. “He took it out so quick, and I’ve never seen from 200 to 400 anything like that”.
