All eyes on Wayde
MONACO – Wayde van Niekerk is up for the IAAF Male World Athlete of the Year award tonight.
South African runner Wayde van Niekerk (24) is one of the finalists for the IAAF Male World Athlete of the Year award, which will be presented in Monaco tonight (2 December).
The 400m world record holder and Olympic champion goes up against Jamaican speedster, Usain Bolt (Olympic 100m, 200m and four times 100m champion), and British distance runner, Mo Farah (Olympic 5km and 10km champion), as the other finalists.
Van Niekerk was awarded the Sports Star of the Year, and Sportsman of the Year awards at the SA Sports Awards in November, after beating Michael Johnson’s 400m world record at the Rio 2016 Olympics, which had stood since 1999.
Van Niekerk ran from lane eight to finish in 43.03, beating the record by 0.15 seconds, setting the athletics world alight and making his a household name all over the world.
Also read: Wayde van Niekerk wins Olympic Gold in new world record time
