Wayde gears up for another return to the track

Wayde van Niekerk will return to action on Tuesday night when the 400m world record holder lines up at a domestic track and field meeting in Potchefstroom.

After bouncing back earlier this year, following a lengthy layoff, Van Niekerk’s comeback season was virtually derailed by the coronavirus pandemic.

Recovering from the serious knee injury he picked up in 2017, he stormed back into form in February when he clocked 10.10 seconds (100m) and 20.31 (200m) in Bloemfontein.

His return, however, was then placed on hold due to the lockdown, and after arriving in Italy at the end of July he had to deal with an extended 25-day isolation period after testing positive for Covid-19.

Having been cleared by health officials, Van Niekerk’s European campaign included just one race in Switzerland in September, where he clocked 45.58 over 400m in his first international contest in more than three years, before he returned home to start preparing for the 2021 season.

With Athletics South Africa relaunching the sport this month, however, Van Niekerk confirmed his 2020 campaign was not over and he would line up in the one-lap sprint at a mid-week Athletics Central North West league meeting.

With me not being fully satisfied with my comeback this year due to me being diagnosed with Covid-19 and not being able to participate in the races I would’ve like to, I’m grateful to Athletics Northwest for hosting an event for athletes to compete competitively again. pic.twitter.com/q2iJgRoTG6

— Wayde van Niekerk (@WaydeDreamer) November 2, 2020

“I am looking forward to competing tomorrow evening in the 400m event
and excited to see how my body feels again in a race situation,” the Olympic champion said on Monday.

“This will give me a great indication to see where I am at in my training and what needs to be done to get into a positive momentum physically and mentally towards 2021.”

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