Wayde van Niekerk’s 0.02 seconds of heartbreak
After missing out on the double gold in a tight race marred by conspiracy theories, SA’s sprint star will turn his attention to a different double
London — Wayde van Niekerk will target another double at the Commonwealth Games in Australia next year‚ but this time the 100m-200m. The two-time 400m titleholder ended the world championships in London in tears on Thursday night after taking the silver medal in the 200m.Van Niekerk was two-hundredths of a second short of matching Michael Johnson’s double from 1995‚ a feat that will survive at least another two years‚ possibly much longer.This season Van Niekerk broke Johnson’s 300m world best and 400m Diamond League record‚ but the 400m-200m double at a single championships was fractionally out of his reach.It was a tight race‚ won by Turkey’s Azerbaijan-born Ramil Guliyev in 20.09sec — the slowest winning time since 2003.Van Niekerk edged Jereem Richards of Trinidad and Tobago into bronze by one-thousandth of a second.The South African‚ who raced six days in a row‚ said he would like to lower his 400m world record — of 43.03 — but suggested he was less likely to do it in major com...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.