Wayde van Niekerk to focus on 200m and relays at Paris Olympics

Reading Time: < 1 minute

World record holder, Wayde van Niekerk, will not run in the 400 metres event at the Paris Olympic Games. He will instead focus on the 200 metres and relays where Team South Africa stands a better chance of winning a medal.

His name had disappeared off the World Athletics list of qualified athletes for the Olympic Games 400 metres event, but still appears on the list for the 200 metres.

Although there has been no official statement from either the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee or Athletics South Africa, Van Niekerk taking his current form into consideration probably agreed to the move.

He ran just one 400 metres race this season and could only manage the 29th fastest time in the world this year. Qualifying for the semi-finals in Paris would’ve been a stretch.

As a 400 metres participant, the 2016 Rio Olympic Games gold medalist would only have been eligible to run in the four-by-400 metres relay. But having switched to the 200 metres, Van Niekerk now becomes eligible for the four-by-100 metres relay as well. And it’s in the relays where Team South Africa believes it can win medals.