South African sprinter Wayde van Niekerk run sub 20 seconds in 200 metres
LUCERNE, Switzerland (AP)_ South African sprinter Wayde van Niekerk joined American great Michael Johnson in elite company while setting a national record in the 200 metres.
Van Niekerk clocked 19.94 seconds on Tuesday to become only the fourth runner to have a sub-20 time over 200 metres and a sub-44 in the 400.
He ran a career-best 43.96 this month to beat Olympic champion Kirani James of Grenada at the Diamond League meet in Paris.
Van Niekerk, who turned 23 on Wednesday, entered the 200-400 club alongside Johnson, LaShawn Merritt of the United States and Isaac Makwala of Botswana, according to the IAAF.
Makwala’s African record of 43.72 set on July 5 retook the continental mark from Van Niekerk set one day earlier.
Alwin Marshall-Squire is the Editor-in-Chief of S-Q Publications Inc., overseeing editorial strategy for GTA Weekly, GTA Today, and Vision Newspaper. He leads the publications’ mission to deliver bold, original journalism focused on the people and communities of the Greater Toronto Area, Canada, and the global Caribbean diaspora.
Also writes for GTA Weekly and GTA Today.