Cape Town - Wayde van Niekerk’s time will come, but for now, Usain Bolt still rules the world of athletics!
South Africa’s 400m Olympic champion and world record-holder Van Niekerk was edged out by Jamaican sprinting legend Bolt, who was crowned the 2016 IAAF Male Athlete of the Year at the awards ceremony in Monaco on Friday night.
Double British Olympic champion Mo Farah was also a finalist for the award.
Ethiopian long-distance ace Almaz Ayana was rewarded for a terrific effort in the Rio Olympics – where she won gold and set a new world record in the 10 000m and bronze in the 5 000m – by being named as the Female Athlete of the Year.
But South Africans can still be proud of our golden boy Van Niekerk, who thrilled the world with his sensational record-breaking run in Rio in August when he set a new 400m time of 43.03 to surpass Michael Johnson’s 17-year-old mark of 43.18.
This time, though, it was Bolt who took the honours in Monaco after clinching his ninth Olympic gold by doing the ‘triple triple’ – winning three golds at three consecutive Games (Beijing 2008, London 2012 and Rio 2016) in three events (100m, 200m, 4x100m).
The 30-year-old from Kingston took the IAAF trophy for a record sixth time, after winning it on five occasions between 2008 and 2013. That shows what a true champion he is as he overcame injury problems and an in-form Justin Gatlin to successfully defend his Olympic titles.
“Thank you all!!!! Honoured to be your @iaaforg Athlete Of The Year #Blessed #Humbled” Bolt said on Twitter soon after accepted the award on stage in Monaco.
Van Niekerk, though, can be thrilled with his season, having also had to fight off some back and hamstring problems throughout the year. The 24-year-old said on Friday in a pre-awards press conference in Monaco that it was “massive” just to be nominated.
“Being nominated amongst greats like Usain Bolt and Mo Farah, it’s really an honour for myself already. I’m just grateful to be here, to share the environment with such great athletes. It gives me a massive boost for the future, so much more motivation to not just leave where I ended 2016, but carry on in 2017,” he said.
Asked whether he could take over Bolt’s mantle as the leading athlete in the world in future, seeing that the Jamaican intends retiring after next year’s world championships, Van Niekerk said: “I’ve seen a feel-good post on social media where someone said ‘Usain Bolt is the king of sprints, and Wayde is the prince’!
“So that was definitely a feel-good moment for myself. It’s definitely something quite cool to know, that people have that belief in me. But it’s also the responsibility to improve on what I’ve done.”
Van Niekerk is the prince of South Africa, and that was reflected at the SA Sports Awards recently. And who knows, he might just take on Bolt head-to-head, perhaps in the 300m.
“I would never ever go out there and tease a lion – you will get bit! If the opportunity comes, it would be a massive honour and blessing to run in the same race as Usain Bolt. But he has his plans and I have mine, and we are in different spaces at the moment,” Van Niekerk said about the possibility of taking on his good friend.
“It’s never been a motive to want to beat Bolt. It’s about wanting to better myself as an athlete. If the occasion comes and we are in the same race, I would cherish the moment.”
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IAAF Award Winners
Female Athlete of the Year: Almaz Ayana (Ethiopia, 10 000m, 5 000m)
Male Athlete of the Year: Usain Bolt (Jamaica, 100m, 200m, 4x100m)
Female Rising Star: Nafissatou Thiam (Belgium, heptathlon)
Male Rising Star: Andre de Grasse (Canada, 100m, 200m, 4x100m)
Coaching Achievement: Harry Marra (Oregon Track Club, USA)
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