World Athletics Championships: Rising star Wayde van Niekerk plans to conquer Gold Coast next year
WAYDE van Niekerk is trying to emulate Michael Johnson in winning a unique double at the world athletics championships. And he has special plans for the Gold Coast next year.
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USAIN Bolt may not be coming to the Gold Coast next year but the heir to his throne wants to win the sprint double at the Commonwealth Games.
South Africa’s Wayde van Niekerk, the world record holder in the 400m, revealed his plans to chase gold in the 100m and 200m at Gold Coast 2018 on the eve of the London world championships where he’s sharing star billing with the retiring Bolt.
“I’ve got the hunger to compete in the 200m and hopefully in the 100m at major championships,” he said.
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“I’d love to do the 100m and 200m at the Commonwealth Games next year.”
Van Niekerk, 25, is the only man in history to have gone under 44 seconds in the 400m, 20sec in the 200m and 10sec in the 100m.
As well as defending his 400m crown in London, he’s trying to emulate the great Michael Johnson who is the only sprinter to win the 400m/200m double at a major championships.
The American did it back at the 1995 world championships in Gothenburg and then backed it up the following year at the Atlanta Olympic Games.
Van Niekerk provided the mind-blowing moment on the track at the Rio Olympics where he won the 400m gold medal from lane eight in 43.03sec, smashing Johnson’s 1999 world record mark (43.18sec).
He’s watched the replay a few times and still can’t find words to describe the race.
“I don’t think you have sentences to describe it,” Van Niekerk said.
“I think the best way is to say that God is good. He really just took me from a level of strength to a new level of strength within that last 100 metres.
“I went from feeling a bit of lactic to feeling nothing.
“When I looked at the video afterwards, I felt my heart beat in my throat. It was massive, looking at the race and how strong I looked.
“It’s a massive confidence booster, knowing I can still do so much better things for myself.”
Van Niekerk is a very different personality to the larger-than-life Bolt, he’s softly spoken and a lot more low-key than the Jamaican who he admires.
“I’m a very relaxed person,” Van Niekerk said when asked to compare his character to that of the Lightning Bolt.
“I like using my alone time. I think I’m a massive introvert. I can be extrovert around the people that I’m quite close with. Yeah, I think that’s who I am . . . I’m very, very basic.
“But I love working hard and chasing my dreams.
“I feel quite honoured to be compared to someone as great as Usain Bolt. It shows growth in my performances, in what I’m doing as a track and field athlete.
“And it gives me a sense of appreciation from Usain Bolt for the recognition and respect that he gives me. Obviously, I’ve got mutual respect for him and what he’s done for the sport.
“But it’s one thing being mentioned as the next big thing. It’s a different thing working hard enough to maintain that title.
“I’m definitely putting in hard work, and hopefully in the next few years I can reach the heights.”
The van Niekerk story does have an interesting side to it given he’s coached by 75-year-old grandma, Anna Botha.
They’ve been together for five years after van Niekerk arrived at the university where Botha was the track and field coach.
She’s known as a stickler for rules who doesn’t tolerate any kind of indiscipline.
“I have known her a while so I don’t think she is quite as scary as people think, but obviously being at the age she is at, she is fixed in a lot of her ways,” van Niekerk said.
“We have differences but it works. I come to training and I put my music on loud and she will give me a look, ‘What are you listening to?’ But first we are athlete and coach and then we can become everything else.
“I enjoy working with her and don’t see myself moving from her any time soon. It works.”
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