OPINION: Have we seen the best of Wayde van Niekerk?

If you’re ever looking for some inspiration, watch a replay of Wayde van Niekerk’s world record victory at the 2016 Rio Olympics. It’ll give you goosebumps.

But while it seemed at the time that he was still approaching the peak of his career, we might have to start accepting that we’ve seen the best of him.

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It has been nearly five years since he was sidelined by a freak injury during a touch rugby match, and as much as he has tried to bounce back, Van Niekerk is still running into walls.

After breaking Michael Johnson’s 400m world record at the Rio Games, winning gold from lane eight in 43.03 seconds, he went on to set a 300m world best of 30.81 the following year, before successfully defending his 400m title at the 2017 World Championships in London.

Soon afterwards, however, his upward trajectory was brought to a sudden halt when he tore his meniscus and ripped his ACL.

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With questions raised about whether he could recover from the serious injury, Van Niekerk achieved a victory in itself by returning to competition in 2020.

Though he has displayed flashes of form over shorter distances, however, his best 400m time since 2017 was the 44.56 he clocked in Madrid last year and he was eliminated in the semifinals at the Tokyo Olympics.

After settling into a new environment in the United States, with a new coach and training group, Van Niekerk had hoped to start his build-up to the international season at the national championships in Cape Town in April, but he was forced to withdraw due to a hamstring niggle, and last week he pulled up during a 200m race in Italy.

It’s probably still a little early to count him out, just because we know he has the ability to achieve his own lofty standards, but Van Niekerk turns 30 next month and he needs to find some momentum soon if he’s going to make a return at the highest level of the sport.

We hope he comes right and can showcase his talent once again. If not, Van Niekerk has already established himself as one of SA’s all-time greats.

Even if he never shines again, he will always be an inspiration.