The king is back. Wayde van Niekerk treated fans to one of the greatest races of his career at the South African championships in Potchefstroom yesterday afternoon, a performance that will make his rivals around the world take notice ... and tremble.
They’re getting a little nervous right about now.
The 30-year-old — looking to reclaim his title as the world’s best after a devastating knee injury in 2017 — made the strongest statement of his comeback to date as he won the 400m in a blistering 44.17sec.
That’s the eighth-fastest he’s ever been and his second-best time on home soil. It’s also the fastest time of his comeback and his fastest time this early in the season.
But the most reassuring aspect was that he finally showed race fitness as he survived three rounds of competition without tiring.
He ran out of legs at the Tokyo Olympics and again at the 2022 world championships.
Van Niekerk’s performance yesterday would have earned him bronze in Tokyo and gold at the world championships last year.
Van Niekerk, who went 44.95 in the semifinals four hours and 40 minutes before the final, showed total control throughout the final.
The greatest 400m runner the world has ever known is back in the throne room and looking to reclaim his crown from the pretenders who usurped his position in his absence.
His re-emergence comes just in time to help end the longest major medal drought suffered by South African athletics after failing to reach the podium at three straight events — the 2019 world championships, Tokyo Games and the 2022 global showpiece.
Van Niekerk’s goal has to be the podium at the 2023 edition of the world championships in Budapest in August. “It has to be,” he agreed.
“I’ve tasted it before, I’ve experienced it before and I’d like to believe, God willing, that I’ll have the opportunity to be on the podium again. That’s a massive message. I mean I only got to 44.5 in June [last year] and it’s now April.”
Runner-up Lythe Pillay, the 2022 under-20 400m world champion, added an extra boost as he dished up two personal bests yesterday. He went 44.94 in the semifinals and then 44.80 in the final, both inside the automatic qualifying standard for the world championships.
And he seemed like a fan when Van Niekerk came up to him after the race and congratulated him. “That just happened,” said a surprised Pillay.
Gardeo Isaacs was third in 45.15 and defending champion Zakithi Nene ended fourth in 45.47; and suddenly there are dreams of a 4x400m relay and potential podium glory.
I’m excited. Finally I can look forward to a possible 4x4. We finally have guys that can challenge the best in the world
— Wayde van Niekerk
Van Niekerk praised his compatriots. “That’s why I ran what I ran today. I wouldn’t run a race like that if I thought the competition was easy. I’ve got a lot of respect for them.
“I’m excited. Finally I can look forward to a possible 4x4, we finally have guys that can challenge the best in the world, so let’s see how it goes.”
The father-of-one also spoke about how tough his journey back had been. “You've seen the rollercoaster since my injury.
“And with that comes a lot of mental battles and challenges, questions and doubts and I’m just trying to fight through it … I’m just trying to stay faithful, even though I wanted to quit every second day.”
The build-up to the championships had been just as nerve-wracking. “It’s terrible, terrible. This is the first smile I’ve had on my face for a solid few weeks now.”
The smiles on his foes’ faces will have diminished.
Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Zeney van der Walt also secured a qualification time as she retained her 400m hurdles title in 54.82sec, the third-best time of her career.
She was a second faster than runner-up Taylon Bieldt, who attacked in the first half of the lap but was unable to keep up when Van der Walt kicked going into the home straight.
Before yesterday, only Akani Simbine had achieved a qualifying time at these championships, in the 100m, although one can expect many of the national team will still win entry through the world-ranking system come the end of the qualifying window on July 30.
Veteran 110m hurdler Antonio Alkana ended four-hundredths of a second short after knocking over the last four obstacles, clocking 13.32. Miranda Coetzee also narrowly missed a qualifying time as she won the 200m-400m double, both in personal bests.
Middle-distance star Prudence Sekgodiso took the 1,500m-800m double.
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