Wayde van Niekerk Clocks 44.58 at Stars and Stripes Classic – Video
Wayde van Niekerk Clocks 44.58 at Stars and Stripes Classic – Video – At the Saturday Stars and Stripes Classic 2022 American Track League event in Marietta, Georgia, Wayde van Niekerk debuted his 2022 campaign. The 400-meter race winner, who holds the world record, finished in 44.58 seconds.
The South African, who has struggled with ailments ever since winning the World and Olympic titles in 2017 and 2016 respectively, was supposed to run the 200m in Italy in June but withdrew from the competition. read more
Van Niekerk exploded out of the blocks, and after the 200 meters, he began to draw away from the competition to win the race in 44.58 with ease.
“The plan was to try and execute my race as comfortably as possible coming off of consecutive niggles and injuries,” 400m World record holder Van Niekerk told ESPN after the race.
“I tried to keep it as smooth as possible for as long as I could, but as you know as you get to the home-straight you have to pick it up a bit and finish strong so it gave me a reason to fight to the finish line and I am quite satisfied with the results,” he added. read more
Rusheen McDonald of Jamaica came in second place with 45.43 seconds, beating his compatriot Demish Gaye, who clocked 45.47 for third place.
Van Niekerk, who is planning to compete at this month’s World Athletics Championships in Oregon, moved to 13th place on the 2022 season list, led by USA’s Michael Norman with 43.56 seconds.