Wayde’s record breaking run

WAYDE van Niekerk produced the best performance by a South African athlete in half a century in the early hours of Monday morning.

Starting in lane eight, Van Niekerk charged out the blocks and held the lead from start to finish in the men’s 400m final at the Rio Olympics, shattering the world record to secure the gold medal in 43.03 seconds.

Here’s the video of his record-breaking race in case you missed it.

Twitter users also reacted to the amazing news.

From one Olympic champion to another – Usain Bolt congratulates @WaydeDreamer. What a moment. #Rio2016 https://t.co/XctWGeVmVU

— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) August 15, 2016

Proudly South Africa #TeamSouthAfrica #Olympics #WadeVanNiekerk https://t.co/0912rfb8CF

— Westgate Shopping Centre (@Westgatetweet) August 15, 2016

Our guy #WadeVanNiekerk seems ready to take Usain Bolt's throne… Watch this space Jamaica 🎉🎉🎉 🇿🇦🇿🇦🇿🇦

— Nicolson Moetsi 🔑 (@iam_Nicolson) August 15, 2016

https://twitter.com/C_Mbadu/status/765067343156436992?lang=en

Thanks for your humble leadership qualities. You are an inspiration to all #WadeVanNiekerk. Well done for showing that perseverance works!!

— Andrew Kidd (@Kidd100000) August 15, 2016

AMAZING race by Wade van Niekerk, but if these WR'S are result of faster surfaces, I think we need to be careful how far we want to go.(1/3)

— David Torrence (@David_Torrence) August 15, 2016

#WadeVanNiekerk 's coach. Happiness is…@Unathi_Kwaza @SureKamhunga @SowetanLIVE @RediTlhabi @Eusebius pic.twitter.com/mmMXXhlTAa

— Lydia Potgieter (@Zefferasjy) August 15, 2016

CONGRATS WADE!! @WaydeDreamer @teamsa16 #WadeVanNiekerk #Gold #Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/Buw75ldcH4

— WSI DigitalMarketing (@wsioms) August 15, 2016