Wayde van Niekerk facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Wayde van Niekerk

van Niekerk at the 2017 World Championships
Personal information
Nationality	South African
Born	(1992-07-15) 15 July 1992 (age 32) Kraaifontein, Cape Province, South Africa
Height	1.83 m
Weight	70 kg
Sport
Sport	Track and field
Event(s)	Sprints
Team	Adidas
Coached by	Lance Brauman (2021–present) Anna Botha (2012–2021)
Achievements and titles
Highest world ranking	1st (400m, 2023)
Personal best(s)	100 m: 9.94 (2017) 200 m: 19.84 (2017) 300 m: 30.81 NB (2017) 400 m: 43.03 WR (2016)
Medal record Men's athletics Representing  South Africa Olympic Games Gold 2016 Rio de Janeiro 400 m World Championships Gold 2015 Beijing 400 m Gold 2017 London 400 m Silver 2017 London 200 m African Championships Gold 2016 Durban 200 m Gold 2016 Durban 4×100 m relay Silver 2014 Marrakesh 400 m Commonwealth Games Silver 2014 Glasgow 400 m Universiade Silver 2013 Kazan 4×400 m relay Representing Africa Continental Cup Gold 2014 Marrakesh 4×400 m relay

Wayde van Niekerk is a famous South African track and field athlete. He is known for his incredible speed in sprint races, especially the 200-meter and 400-meter events.

He holds the world record and Olympic record for the 400 meters. He set this amazing record when he won the gold medal at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.

Wayde van Niekerk has won many medals. He earned a silver medal in the 400m at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. He also won a silver medal in the 4×400 metres relay at the 2013 Summer Universiade.

At the 2015 World Championships in Athletics, he won a gold medal in the 400 meters. Two years later, at the 2017 World Championships in London, he defended his 400m title. He also won a silver medal in the 200 meters race at the same event.

In the 2016 Summer Olympics, Wayde van Niekerk won the 400m gold medal. He set a new world record with a time of 43.03 seconds. This beat the old record of 43.18 seconds set by Michael Johnson in 1999.

In 2016, Wayde made history. He became the first sprinter ever to run the 100 meters in under 10 seconds, the 200 meters in under 20 seconds, and the 400 meters in under 44 seconds. In 2017, he also broke Michael Johnson's world-best time in the 300 meters. This made him the only sprinter to run sub-10, sub-20, sub-31, and sub-44 seconds in the 100m, 200m, 300m, and 400m races.

Early Life and Education

Wayde van Niekerk was born in Cape Town, South Africa, on July 15, 1992. His mother, Odessa Swarts, was also a sprinter. He was born early and needed a blood transfusion as a baby.

Wayde went to Bellville Primary and Simonberg Primary schools. In 2005, he and his mother moved to Bloemfontein. There, he attended Grey College. Later, he studied marketing at the University of the Free State.

Amazing Athletics Career

Wayde van Niekerk started his international career at the 2010 World Junior Championships in Athletics. He finished fourth in the 200m race, setting a personal best time. He also ran in the 4x100 meters relay.

In 2011, at just 18 years old, he won the 200m title at the South African Athletics Championships. He set a new personal best time of 20.57 seconds.

Becoming a 400m Star

In 2013, Wayde began to focus on the 400m race. He won his second national title in this event at the South African Championships. He also won a race in Dakar, Senegal. He then came second to Olympic champion Kirani James in Europe, improving his best time to 45.09 seconds.

At the 2013 Summer Universiade, he won his first international medal. The South African men's team took the silver medal in the 4x400 meters relay.

In April 2014, Wayde ran the 400m in 44.92 seconds. This was his first time running under 45 seconds. He then set a new South African record of 44.38 seconds at a race in New York. At the 2014 Commonwealth Games, he won his first individual senior medal. He placed second in the 400m behind Kirani James.

Breaking Records and Winning Gold

The year 2015 was a huge year for Wayde van Niekerk. On July 4, he lowered his South African record to 43.96 seconds. This placed him among the fastest runners of all time. Ten days later, he ran the 200m in 19.94 seconds, his first time under 20 seconds. This made him only the second man in history to run under 20 seconds for the 200m and under 44 seconds for the 400m.

A month later, Wayde represented South Africa at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics. He focused only on the 400m. He won the gold medal in 43.48 seconds. This made him the fourth-fastest runner of all time.

On March 12, 2016, Wayde became the 107th athlete to run the 100 meters in under 10 seconds. This made him the first person ever to run the 100m under 10 seconds, the 200m under 20 seconds, and the 400m under 44 seconds. He was chosen to be the flag bearer for South Africa at the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Olympic Glory and World Titles

Wayde van Niekerk won the gold medal in the 400 meters at the 2016 Summer Olympics. He set a new world record of 43.03 seconds, beating Michael Johnson's record. He was 24 years old at the time. Wayde became the only man to win the Olympic or world 400 meters from lane eight. Runners in this lane are usually at a disadvantage because of the staggered start.

In November 2016, he won the Association of National Olympic Committees Best Male Athlete of the Rio 2016 Olympics award.

On August 8, 2017, Wayde successfully defended his 400 meters world title at the 2017 World Championships in Athletics in London. He finished in 43.98 seconds. Two days later, he won a silver medal in the 200m race. This made him the first South African athlete to win two individual sprint medals at a single World Championships.

Overcoming Injuries

On October 31, 2017, Wayde van Niekerk was playing in a celebrity rugby match. He injured his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), which is a knee injury. He had surgery and spent all of 2018 recovering.

He worked hard in rehabilitation to prepare for the 2019 season and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He did not compete in the 2019 World Championships. He also did not reach the 400m final in the 2020 Olympic Games. However, he finished 5th in the 400m final at the 2022 World Championships.

Wayde was coached by Ans Botha, known as Tannie Ans (Aunty Ans in Afrikaans), until 2021. In 2021, he moved to the United States to train in Florida with coach Lance Brauman.

Personal Life

Wayde van Niekerk married Chesney Campbell on October 29, 2017. He is the cousin of Cheslin Kolbe, a famous South African rugby player who won the 2019 Rugby World Cup.

Wayde first started using his speed when playing rugby in junior school in Cape Town. He and his cousin, Cheslin, were on the same team. More than 12 years later, they were both on the South African Olympic Team in Rio. Cheslin played in the Rugby Sevens.

Wayde's parents are divorced. In 2016, he was living with his mother, Odessa Swarts, and his stepfather, Steven Swarts, in Bloemfontein. His sister, Kayla Swarts, is also an international hockey player.

Wayde is a Christian. After setting the world record for the 400 meters, he tweeted "Jesus Did It" and "GOD IS POWER." He is also a big fan of the Premier League football club Liverpool F.C..

Statistics and Achievements

Wayde van Niekerk has achieved many great things in his career. Here are some of his best times and results.

Personal Best Times

How He Ran the 400m World Record

When Wayde van Niekerk set the 400m world record, his split times were:

He ran the first 200 meters in 20.54 seconds. He ran the last 200 meters in 22.49 seconds. The fastest 100-meter section was between 100m and 200m, which he completed in just 9.78 seconds.

International Competition Results

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Time	Notes
Representing  South Africa (South Africa) and Africa (for Continental Cup)
2010	World Junior Championships	Moncton, New Brunswick	4th	200 m	21.02	PB
			11th	4×100 m relay	40.32	PB
2013	Universiade	Kazan, Russia	9th	400 m	46.39
			2nd	4×400 m relay	3:06.19	PB
	World Championships	Moscow, Russia	26th	400 m	46.37
2014	Commonwealth Games	Glasgow, Scotland	2nd	400 m	44.68
			13th	200 m	20.69
	African Championships	Marrakesh, Morocco	2nd	400 m	45.00
2014	Continental Cup	Marrakesh, Morocco	4th	400 m	45.27
			1st	4×400 m relay	3:00.02	PB
2015	World Championships	Beijing, China	1st	400 m	43.48	WL, NR, PB
2016	African Championships	Durban, South Africa	1st	4×100 m relay	38.84	PB
			1st	200 m	20.02	SB
	Olympic Games	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	1st	400 m	43.03	WR, OR
2017	World Championships	London, England	1st	400 m	43.98
			2nd	200 m	20.11
2021	Olympic Games	Tokyo, Japan	12th (sf)	400 m	45.14
2022	World Championships	Eugene, United States	5th	400 m	44.97
2023	World Championships	Budapest, Hungary	7th	400 m	45.11
2024	Olympic Games	Paris, France	20th (sf)	200 m	20.72

Circuit Wins (Diamond League)

Wayde van Niekerk has won several races in the Diamond League, a series of top athletics competitions:

• Birmingham: 2015 (300 m)
• New York: 2015
• Paris: 2015
• London: 2015, 2023
• Rome: 2016
• Monaco: 2016, 2017
• Lausanne: 2017
• Silesia: 2023
• Oslo: 2023

Seasonal Best Times

These are Wayde van Niekerk's best times for the 200m and 400m each year. The highlighted times are track records.

National Titles Won

Wayde van Niekerk has won many national championships in South Africa:

• South African Championships
  • 200 metres: 2011, 2017, 2021
  • 400 metres: 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016
• South African Junior Championships
  • 100 metres: 2011
  • 200 metres: 2011

Images for kids

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  Wayde van Niekerk at the 2017 World Championships

See also

In Spanish: Wayde van Niekerk para niños