What to Know About Wayde van Niekerk, the South African Athlete Usain Bolt Is Praising

While in primary school in Cape Town, Wayde and his cousin, Cheslin Kolbe, played on the same rugby team. At an early age it was evident that the two were meant for great things.

Van Niekerk isn’t the only family member to win a medal in Rio. His cousin, Cheslin Kolbe, won bronze with the South African Sevens rugby team.

Van Niekerk has been participating in sporting events from a young age and there’s no doubt why. His mother was a sprint and high-jump athlete until falling pregnant, while his father also participated in sprinting, high-jump and rugby.

After he finished primary school, Wayde’s family relocated to Bloemfontein and, thanks to his talent, he was offered a scholarship to attend the highly regarded Grey College High School.

The athlete’s initial passion was high jump, but he started focusing on sprinting after qualifying for the 200 metres at the 2010 World Junior Championships in Moncton, Canada.

Anna “Ans” Botha, a 74-year-old grandmother and former athletics coach at the University of the Freestate (Kovsies), met Wayde in 2012 while he was a student at the university. Botha helped shape Wayde’s career with a strict training routine and lots of encouragement.

Wayde had been injury-free for a whole year in 2014, something that hadn’t happened before. In 2014 he boosted his confidence and gained the strength to break the world record.

His winning time at the Beijing world championships in 2015 was 43.48 seconds and he became South Africa’s first world sprint champion.

Wayde was the first to break 10 seconds for the 100-metre sprint, 20 seconds for 200 metres, and 44 seconds for 400 metres. His times were 9.98 seconds for 100 metres, 19.94 seconds for 200 metres, and 43.48 seconds in the 400-metre sprint.

Although he has always been mainly interested in sports, Van Niekerk pursued a degree in Marketing from the University of the Freestate after completing his high school education.