LOOK: Wayde van Niekerk is reg for a gold rush
|Published
Looking up: Wayde van Niekerk. Picture credit: Christian Bruna
Wayde van Niekerk will go all out to make Wednesday’s 400m final at the World Athletic Championships in Budapest when he runs his semifinal heat on Tuesday at 9pm.
On Sunday, Van Niekerk comfortably won his heat in a time of 44.57 seconds, even slowing down near the end as he looked to avoid over-exerting himself.
The world record holder and 2016 Olympic champion looks to be back to his best since his serious knee injury in 2017.
Wayde Van Niekerk Secures a Spot in the 400m Semi-Final Qualifier with an Outstanding Run! Let's Cheer for the Champion! 🇿![CDATA[]]>🇦![CDATA[]]>🔥 pic.twitter.com/Ky7yUfOH2b
— Athletics_SA (@AthleticsSA_) August 20, 2023
And following the disqualification of fellow medal hopeful Akani Simbine in the 100m on Sunday, Van Niekerk says ahead of Tuesday night’s race: “These championships are just about putting my best foot forward and seeing what happens.
“It was a positive race [on Sunday]. I felt strong, felt good. I’ve been running some solid times so I feel I’m coming back towards my best.”
Van Niekerk adds: “Only time can tell when I get back where I was. We’ll see what happens. Every opportunity to compete at this level is important. I’m just trying to keep a positive mindset with the Olympics coming up next year.
“Here, it’s just about going round by round and seeing what happens. My body feels good, and the injury is all clear, 100 percent.”