Wayde van Niekerk (Getty Images)
Wayde van Niekerk made an emphatic return to international athletics on Tuesday evening by winning the 400m event at the Gala dei Castelli meet in Switzerland.
Van Niekerk, running in lane 4, came home in 45.58 ahead of Joachem Dobber of the Netherlands (45.78) and Karel Zalewski of Poland (46.03).
Although he has raced in South Africa since his return from injury, his first international event was meant to be in Italy last month.
That, however, was scuppered by a positive coronavirus test, although he remained asymptomatic throughout.
This was Van Niekerk’s first international outing in over three years and starts his quest to run sub-43 seconds over 400m.
In April, in an interview with the Olympic channel, Van Niekerk confirmed dipping below 43 seconds was one of his prime goals.
“I am hungrier than before. I still believe I can go sub-43. I can go way better than what I have in 100m and 200m, that’s where my mind was before the injury and that’s where my mind is at for the future,” said Van Niekerk during the interview.
– Compiled by Sport24 staff
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