Wayde van Niekerk is set to run his first individual 400m race of the season today when he lines up at the USATF New York Grand Prix.
The South African will face some stiff competition from long-time rival Kirani James of Grenada, the evergreen former Olympic and world champion, as well as Jereem Richards of Trinidad and Tobago.
American Christopher Bailey is the fastest of the field so far this year with the 44.42sec he ran last month. James went 44.58 at the Bislett Games while Richards, who is making his 400m outdoor debut for 2024, clocked an impressive 20.13 over 200m at the Racers Grand Prix in Kingston, Jamaica, at the beginning of the month.
Van Niekerk, who finished seventh at the world championships last year, competed in the 200m at the South African championships in April. He was part of the 4x400m team that took silver at World Relays in Bahamas, although he withdrew from the final because of a niggle.
Van Niekerk, 31, also pulled out of the Atlanta City Games last month after experiencing back pain.
On paper the holder of the 43.03 world record from 2016 could offer South Africa two medal opportunities at the Paris Olympics from July 27 to August 11 — but he needs to be in good shape.
What he’s yet to achieve in his comeback since injuring his right knee in 2017, is run three 400m rounds strongly at a single championship. He was eliminated in the semifinal stage at Tokyo 2020. Although he made the final at the 2022 and 2023 world championships, he was unable to carry his trademark speed into the finals of those competitions.
In Paris, Van Niekerk will also need to run a fourth time, the 4x400m final. Last year he produced his fastest post-injury time, going 44.08 in mid-July, and he will probably need to go even quicker to reach the podium in France.
The fastest time in the world this year is the 44.05 by Canadian Christopher Morales-Williams from a month ago. Lythe Pillay is sixth with the 44.31 he ran, winning the national crown in Pietermaritzburg.
A form Van Niekerk will be critical to Team South Africa’s chances of a medal in track and field in Paris, in the relay as well as the individual event.
Apart from him, there’s Akani Simbine in the 100m, Prudence Sekgodiso in the women’s 800m and possibly the 4x100m.
The meet will be broadcast on SuperSport channel 209 from 7.30pm.
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