Wayde van Niekerk storms to career best time

Sprinter Wayde van Niekerk flaunted his versatility again on Monday night, setting a personal best in the 100m dash at a European permit meeting in Velenje.

The 400m world record holder, aiming for a 200m/400m double at the World Championships in London in August, clocked 9.94 seconds to chop 0.04 off his career best in the short dash.

Also holding times of 19.84 (200m) and 43.03 (400m), he continued to expand his remarkable range across all sprint distances.

He climbed to second place in the all-time national rankings, crossing the line 0.05 outside the SA record held by Akani Simbine.

Van Niekerk led a South African clean sweep, with Emile Erasmus taking second place in 10.12 and Henricho Bruintjies ending third in 10.14.

Rikenette Steenkamp was also in fine form, joining Van Niekerk in spearheading a nine-member SA contingent at the meeting.

Storming to a convincing victory, Steenkamp won the women’s 100m hurdles race in 13.03, just 0.01 outside her personal best, to miss the national record by 0.09.

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