Top 10 African Athletes in 2015 (Part 2)

                                       4) Wayde Van Niekerk:

When Jesus Culture sang: “Break chains”, little did they know that their song would find its way into the music player of Wayde Van Niekerk who confessed that he listens to it before big races.  He literally broke barriers this year as he became the men’s 400m World Champion.

In our build-up to the World Championships, we listed Van Niekerk as one of two Africans who could win the title, considering that he is only the fourth athlete to ever run below 20s in the 200m (19.94s) and 44s in the 400m.

At the Paris Diamond League, Van Niekerk gave a sample of what was to come, beating Olympic Champion, Kirani James to win in a then African Record of 43.96s, which lasted for only 24hrs before Isaac Makwala ran a new time of 43.72 at La Chaux-de-Fonds.

If we thought that Van Niekerk’s win in Paris was a one-off, he even outperformed that, albeit on a bigger stage. From Lane 6 in between defending world champion, LaShawn Merrit (Lane 8) and James (5), Van Niekerk was uncatchable as he powered to an astonishing win, setting a new African Record of 43.48s. This time around the record lasted for more than a day, and would undoubtedly go into 2016.

He reclined to a spot after the race, exhausted and had to be stretchered off the track after giving his all to win a title that no other African has won before. Nigeria’s Innocent Egbunike came close, winning Silver at the 1987 World Championship in Zurich after running a then African Record of 44.17s which stood for 19 years.

To show how valued Van Niekerk’s efforts in Beijing was in his country, he was in November named South Africa’s Sportsman of the Year, beating the likes of downhill mountain-biker Greg Minnaar and swimmer Chad le Clos.

Van Niekerk is now the highest ranked quarter miler who is not from USA. In fact, only three people have run faster than him: the great Michael Johnson, Harry Reynolds and Jeremy Wariner. His time is the sixth best on the all-time list.