Wayde van Niekerk cruises to victory in 400m showdown
The Olympic champion even slowed before crossing the line‚ but he still stopped the clock on 43.62sec‚ a record for this Diamond League meet
WAYDE van Niekerk cruised to victory in his first serious 400m race in Lausanne on Thursday night as he grabbed his second world lead. The Olympic champion even slowed before crossing the line‚ but he still stopped the clock on 43.62sec‚ a record for this Diamond League meet and a time faster than any active athlete in the world. Only four other men in history have been quicker‚ including American Michael Johnson‚ who had held the previous 43.66 meet record. And Van Niekerk looked like he was taking it easy. He started slow by comparison‚ and he wasn’t even in the lead when he entered the home straight‚ trailing Isaac Makwala of Botswana. But he put his foot down to storm into the lead before easing up before the finish. Few people are likely to bet against Van Niekerk‚ who also has the 200m world lead‚ when he doubles in the 200m and 400m at the world championships in London next month. Early‚ Justin Gatlin outpowered Akani Simbine for the second time in two days as he won the 100m...
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