South African 400 metres world and Olympic record holder and world and Olympic champion Wayde van Niekerk gets ready to compete on February 29, 2020, during the Free State Championship in Bloemfontein. (Photo by CHARL DEVENISH / AFP)
Wayde van Niekerk 100 per cent ready to return to the track
Olympic 400m champion Wayde van Niekerk is confident he can reclaim his best form on the track after two years sidelined by a knee injury.
South African 400 metres world and Olympic record holder and world and Olympic champion Wayde van Niekerk gets ready to compete on February 29, 2020, during the Free State Championship in Bloemfontein. (Photo by CHARL DEVENISH / AFP)
South African Athletics hero Wayde van Niekerk says he is “100% ready” to get back on the track after two years on the sidelines with injury.
The freak injury that derailed an Olympic dream
The Olympic and two-time former world 400m champion damaged knee ligaments in October 2017 while playing in a celebrity touch rugby match that preceded a South Africa-New Zealand Test in Cape Town.
The freak injury put him out for much longer than expected with several obstacles preventing him from returning to the track in 2019 and 2020.
His rehabilitation time included spells at medical facilities in the United States and Qatar, and there were several setbacks, including bruising of the knee.
“There were days when I couldn’t walk,” Van Niekerk told the Paris edition of the Diamond League Call Room in an interview set to air on social media on Saturday.
Wayde Van Niekerk ready to get back on the track
The Capetonian has slowly come back to the track, his most recent outing a victory in the Free State provincial championships 400m race in Bloemfontein in March, his fourth such low-key race.
He had pulled out of an international race in 2019 over concerns that the wet track would present an opportunity for his injury to be aggravated.
Van Niekerk also said he had learned to differentiate between “bad pain when I am on the brink of injuring myself and pain where I just need a day or two of rest and recovery”.
“I had to listen to my body more and I thank my coaches for listening to me when I am in that situation.”
“My body is feeling good,” Van Niekerk, who ran the world record of 43.03 seconds when winning 400m gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics, added.
“I have had time to allow my knee to get used to that ‘on your marks’ feeling.”
His recent outings had given him a “massive confidence boost to know that I still have my speed”.
“Now I just need to puzzle everything back together again to run the 400m successfully.”
A silver lining for the gold medal hopeful
The ongoing global health crisis has wrought havoc on the track and field season, with a number of Diamond League meetings cancelled.
The Tokyo Olympics were also postponed a year to 2021. That might just prove to be a blessing for van Niekerk who had faced a race against time to be ready for the games this year
Van Niekerk said it was easier for him to accept not competing after his enforced break.
“I have been in a two-year lockdown hibernation vibe anyway with my injury!”
