While others around him were going crazy celebrating his new 400m world record, South African sprinter Wayde van Niekerk simply sat back on his couch and took it all in. That’s the kind of guy he is. Humble. Unassuming. Certainly not one to relish the limelight.
What he’d just achieved on the track in Rio, blowing his rivals away to shatter the great Michael Johnson’s 17-year-old world record, was truly remarkable. But all Van Niekerk wanted to do was hang out with his family, 10 of which were in Rio on Sunday night to witness history being made.
“The excitement was so high in my family. I’m a very quiet and passive person so they just took over,” the 24-year-old from Cape Town reflects. “I just literally sat back on the couch and listened to all the stories of what they’ve been experiencing in Rio these last few days.
“I’ve got so many characters in my family – I think you’ve seen it in interviews and TV shows. It was a reality show last night listening to stories and jokes of what’s been happening here.”
Van Niekerk has finally had the chance to watch a replay of the race – something he needed to do to actually recall what he’d just achieved because straight after the race it was all a bit of a blur.
“I have watched the race now. I‘m quite surprised at how strong I finished,” he says. “It didn’t feel as strong as it looked. I had no strategy – I just said: ‘God take over’. It was a very difficult championships for me. Through the heats and the semis I was struggling with a back and hamstring niggle.
“Before the final I still had a bit of a niggle and I felt so emotional when I got to the blocks. But I just believed in God and let his will be done in my life and when that gun went I felt no pain. I just went and I went and I went. That’s why I say those last 100m were a miracle.”
Commentating for the BBC at the time, former 400m world record holder, Johnson, said: “Van Niekerk is so young, what else can he do? Can he go under 43 seconds? It is something I thought I could do, but never did. Usain Bolt will be retiring soon, this could be the next star of the sport.”
He later sent a congratulatory tweet to the South African, adding that the record was in “good hands”.
Bolt himself interrupted a TV interview after his own 100m triumph to go and congratulate Van Niekerk on his achievement, saying: “It was brilliant. From lane eight, the way he runs, I knew he was going to be brilliant.
“When he was training in Jamaica my coach said he’s probably the only guy in the world right now who can break this 400m world record. He’s got speed and strength and he came out here and proved him right.”
Bolt and Van Niekerk have grown close over the past year and there could be few better mentors for a track star, with the South African lauding the role Bolt has played in building his confidence.
“We’ve built quite a good relationship the last few months,” Van Niekerk explains. “What he has achieved in track speaks for itself and he’s someone that’s inspired me as an individual and it was a very special moment having him come up to me and congratulating me. He’s played a huge role in motivating me and in helping me with my self-belief this year. It’s been a great year.”
With an Olympic gold medal around his neck and a new world record, “great year” may be a bit of an understatement. But it’s going to take time for what Van Niekerk has achieved to sink in.
“When I look back at my race, I’m like ‘Wow, was that me pushing the way I did in those last 100m?’” he adds. “Even the way I started pulling away from the rest of the pack. It was a quality line-up and I still have to pinch myself to think ‘was that me?’”
It’s hard to believe that just a year ago, Van Niekerk was “not a fan of the 400m”.
“I’m trying to learn to love it,” he admitted after being crowned world champion in 2015. “I still feel like quitting after every single race. But this has been my God-given talent and my blessing and I just need to use it in the best way possible. If only I could [ just run 200m] because I have a big love for the 100 and 200 sprints but now the 400m is just taking over.”
He pays credit to one particular person for being able to power through the final stretch in Rio on Sunday.
“I give my coach full credit for sharpening me up on those last 100m” says Van Niekerk who was originally a high jumper as a youngster. “I thank her so much for believing in me and showing that trust in my ability. It made it easy for me to go out there and give my best performance.”
The coach receiving that credit is a 74-yearold great grandmother, Anna Botha – better known to her athletes as Tannie (Auntie) Ans.
“Her greatest strength is discipline,” adds Van Niekerk. “She’s got this thing that if we arrive five minutes early we’re late. I think her watch is set off a bit.
“It’s that strictness and discipline that plays a huge role. Every one of us is scared to get to training late and it’s important that she has that role but at the same time she doesn’t really see us as athletes. She sees us as her children and she puts in that extra effort to look after us no matter what we need within the group and I credit her for that.”
Botha, of course, was beaming broadly on Sunday night as her star athlete rounded the track quicker than any human before him. But she wasn’t as stunned as the rest of the world. What made Van Niekerk’s performance all the more remarkable was of course that he was running in lane eight, unable to see any of the competitors around him.
Wayde van Niekerk (@WaydeDreamer) shaved more time off 400m WR than Michael Johnson did when he set record in 1999 pic.twitter.com/tJzsmrJmdC
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) August 15, 2016
“Lane eight is the same as all the other lanes – it’s the same length,” reckoned Botha.
“And Wayde is a very strong-minded athlete, very focused. So he didn’t allow any worries or anything like that. He knew what I wanted and what we worked for so there was no reason to make his mind full of new ideas,” added the woman who started coaching in Namibia in 1968 – far from the world of synthetic tracks – or even starting blocks.
Asked if she might consider the prospect of retirement, now that Van Niekerk has achieved the ultimate, Botha was almost surprised.
“I cannot see any reason at this stage why I have to do that,” she said. “I’m blessed at this stage with health. I still love my coaching and athletics and love my athletes so I can’t see a reason why I would go and sit at home and play with my fingers. That’s not me.”
And why should she? There’s still the 43-second barrier to break.
