‘Home boy’ Wayde said no to US colleges

Wayde van Niekerk is the picture of relief after winning the 400m men's final at the Rio Olympic Games. Picture: Reuters

Wayde van Niekerk is the picture of relief after winning the 400m men's final at the Rio Olympic Games. Picture: Reuters

Published Jan 16, 2017

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He now has the athletics world in his hands after the Rio Olympics, but even as a youngster, 400m record holder Wayde van Niekerk was proving to be a hit on the international scene.

Despite having been a serious competitor on the global stage since around 2013, Van Niekerk was still relatively unknown in South Africa until he won gold two years later at the world championships in Beijing.

He then become an athletics and sporting icon after breaking Michael Johnson’s 17-year-old world mark of 43.18 when he won the Rio Olympic title with an unbelievable time of 43.03 last August.

But his talent was already recognised in 2010, when he represented South Africa at the World Under-20 Championships in Moncton, Canada.

An 18-year-old Van Niekerk participated in the 200m and came fourth, and despite losing out on a medal, he had the opportunity to move overseas and leave Bloemfontein.

Instead, he opted to join the University of the Free State and coach Anna ‘Tannie Ans’ Botha, and the rest is history.

“My knowledge of athletics had been picked up by watching TV and I knew that the American and Jamaican athletes would dominate the sprints, so my whole mindset was based on the fact I did not want to lose against the Americans and Jamaicans,” Van Niekerk told the IAAF website this week.

“I remember beating the American athlete in both the heats and semi-finals of the 200m, and then I faced no American in the final. I had a very different mindset back then to what I do today.

“The final just seemed like another race to me. I finished fourth in a PB of 21.02, just 0.02 behind Canada’s Aaron Brown, who took the bronze. To be honest, at the time it was not such a big deal that I had come so close to a medal. It was only later when people mentioned it that I realised how significant it was.

“After the race, people from US colleges came up to me and wanted to recruit me. It was very flattering, but my loyalty was staying and developing my career in South Africa, which I believe has been the right decision.”

And wasn’t it just. With his now-74-year-old coach Botha, Van Niekerk has blazed a trail for his fellow South African sprinters such as Akani Simbine to become a force in world athletics, and trained with Usain Bolt in Jamaica.

But the 24-year-old is happy to acknowledge where it all started. “I had been running for many years as a schoolboy, but 2010 was the first time I had qualified for a major championship. It was also the first time I’d travelled outside of South Africa and I was extremely excited,” Van Niekerk said.

“I left on my birthday and I recall flying to Dubai and then on to Canada, and my 18th birthday seemed to last forever because of the different time zones. It was quite a funny and unique experience to have a birthday last for nearly two days!

“The first thing I noticed about Canada was the big cars and big trucks. It was an exciting experience to think I was in North America.

“To be honest, back then I had few expectations. I was just happy to wear the South African colours and make my family proud. It was only later in my career did I fully acknowledge the magnitude and responsibility that comes with running for your country.

“Back then my warm-ups consisted of a few stretches and then I was ready to run, yet some of my rivals were warming up for what seemed like hours with their own personal trainer stretching with them. Since then, I’ve grown so much as an athlete and I have since gone from strength to strength. It proved a massive motivation and inspiration.”

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