Van Niekerk gutted by ‘terrible’ result in World Champs final

After crashing out in the chase for a medal at the World Athletics Championships, sprinter Wayde van Niekerk said he needed time to process his latest result before assessing his future on the track.

Van Niekerk trailed home in last place in the men’s 400m final at the track and field showpiece in Budapest on Thursday.

He clocked 45.11 seconds – more than a full second outside his season’s best and well off the pace of Jamaican athlete Antonio Watson who won gold in 44.22.

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In a performance Van Niekerk referred to as “terrible”, the world record holder lacked the strength that carried him to the Olympic title in 2016 and world titles in 2015 and 2017.

Having lined up this week as the SA team’s best hope for a medal at the World Championships, at least on paper, he admitted he was gutted with the result.”It’s very frustrating and I’m disappointed, but obviously I have to take full responsibility,” Van Niekerk said.

“I’m the one who lined up and put the effort in, and we all know it was well off par from what I can do. Comparing it to the medallists, it was not a good performance at all.”

Fading form

After making a top-flight comeback from a lengthy injury layoff last year, reaching the final at the World Championships in Eugene, Van Niekerk had shown promising form this season, winning three Diamond League races on the international circuit.

Though he entered the final in Budapest as the fastest man in the field this year, however, running three races in a week seemed to catch up with the South African star and he was nowhere near his best in the medal contest.

Van Niekerk admitted he had expected more from himself, and while he was likely to target a medal again at next year’s Olympic Games, he wasn’t sure about his immediate future in the closing stages of the 2023 season.

“Looking at the form I was in, I believed I could do better. I’m still busy processing everything, but I’m not happy,” he said.

“But it’s my reality, so I obviously need to process that and see what’s next.”