Sprint star Wayde van Niekerk and his fleet-footed rugby player cousin Cheslin Kolbe once earned piles of pocket money as schoolkids when their coach offered cash for tries.Now Van Niekerk is aiming to bag the first major medal of his athletics career at the world championships in Beijing, starting with his 400m heats on Sunday morning (5am SA time).
“We came here for one thing only – to get a top-three,” a relaxed Van Niekerk told the Daily Dispatch in an interview at the SA team hotel yesterday. “The focus is on just getting that medal.”
Asked if he was looking at any particular colour, he replied: “Whichever blessing, I’ll accept it.”
Van Niekerk grew up in Cape Town, playing touch rugby on the streets with Kolbe, a distant cousin.
Who scored more tries? “I did,” he replied with a laugh, but then added, “I’m joking, I can’t remember.”
He and Kolbe were in the same Simonsberg junior school rugby team. “Our coach offered us R5 a try and that day Cheslin and I scored a lot of tries. We made a lot of money.”
Van Niekerk took up running seriously in high school in Bloemfontein, where he first competed using his stepfather’s shoes.
“I wore them for two years before I got a sponsor. It was a pair of shoes with flowers on them and I didn’t want a pair of shoes with flowers on,” he recalled with a smile. “But nobody noticed because I didn’t win, I didn’t even make the Free State team that time.”
This time he is arguably SA team’s best hope of a medal in Beijing, having shown awesome form this season, breaking the 44-sec barrier in the 400m, which proved to be important psychological step.
“I was fighting so many mental battles this year. I used to doubt myself. Each time I broke a record I would wonder if I could do it again?
“Once I broke 44 I realised I’m limiting myself if I’m going to doubt myself,” explained Van Niekerk, who soon afterwards broke the 20-second barrier in the 200m.
He feels at home taking on his biggest three rivals – Olympic champion Kirani James, world champion LaShawn Merrit and African champion Isaac Makwala.
He has beaten James and Makwala in separate races this season.
But Van Niekerk is less comfortable with needles, which proved a problem when blood was taken from him in a doping test on Tuesday, the day he arrived in China.
“I fainted,” he said.
“They normally take two vials but this time they took four. They asked me if I was okay and as I said I needed help I passed out. I was out.”
Van Niekerk has been named as one of the six members of the SA 4x100m relay team, but he was adamant he would rather focus on the one-lap race.
“It’s definitely not part of my plan, but if they need me I can’t refuse,” he said.
The relay is scheduled for after the 400m final, but Van Niekerk said he had bad memories of previous relays.
At the 2010 world junior championships he ran in the relay the day before the 200m final, where he ended fourth, and then at the SA championships the following year he got injured running the relay.
Van Niekerk was injury prone as a 100m and 200m runner until he switched to the 400m in 2012.
“I need to focus on me first. I don’t want to sound selfish. I would love to run the 200m, but the 400m is where I have the talent.”
But clocking his world-class times takes its toll, he said, admitting he threw up after each tough 400m race.
“I never throw up after training, but every time I race hard, a personal best … In Paris I had to walk past the interview area, pretending not to see them, and go find a place … I threw up next to an ambulance.”
Van Niekerk’s nausea in Beijing could be good for SA’s medal tally.
Wayde aims to shoot for podium spot
“We came here for one thing only – to get a top-three,” a relaxed Van Niekerk told the Daily Dispatch in an interview at the SA team hotel yesterday. “The focus is on just getting that medal.”
Asked if he was looking at any particular colour, he replied: “Whichever blessing, I’ll accept it.”
Van Niekerk grew up in Cape Town, playing touch rugby on the streets with Kolbe, a distant cousin.
Who scored more tries? “I did,” he replied with a laugh, but then added, “I’m joking, I can’t remember.”
He and Kolbe were in the same Simonsberg junior school rugby team. “Our coach offered us R5 a try and that day Cheslin and I scored a lot of tries. We made a lot of money.”
Van Niekerk took up running seriously in high school in Bloemfontein, where he first competed using his stepfather’s shoes.
“I wore them for two years before I got a sponsor. It was a pair of shoes with flowers on them and I didn’t want a pair of shoes with flowers on,” he recalled with a smile. “But nobody noticed because I didn’t win, I didn’t even make the Free State team that time.”
This time he is arguably SA team’s best hope of a medal in Beijing, having shown awesome form this season, breaking the 44-sec barrier in the 400m, which proved to be important psychological step.
“I was fighting so many mental battles this year. I used to doubt myself. Each time I broke a record I would wonder if I could do it again?
“Once I broke 44 I realised I’m limiting myself if I’m going to doubt myself,” explained Van Niekerk, who soon afterwards broke the 20-second barrier in the 200m.
He feels at home taking on his biggest three rivals – Olympic champion Kirani James, world champion LaShawn Merrit and African champion Isaac Makwala.
He has beaten James and Makwala in separate races this season.
But Van Niekerk is less comfortable with needles, which proved a problem when blood was taken from him in a doping test on Tuesday, the day he arrived in China.
“I fainted,” he said.
“They normally take two vials but this time they took four. They asked me if I was okay and as I said I needed help I passed out. I was out.”
Van Niekerk has been named as one of the six members of the SA 4x100m relay team, but he was adamant he would rather focus on the one-lap race.
“It’s definitely not part of my plan, but if they need me I can’t refuse,” he said.
The relay is scheduled for after the 400m final, but Van Niekerk said he had bad memories of previous relays.
At the 2010 world junior championships he ran in the relay the day before the 200m final, where he ended fourth, and then at the SA championships the following year he got injured running the relay.
Van Niekerk was injury prone as a 100m and 200m runner until he switched to the 400m in 2012.
“I need to focus on me first. I don’t want to sound selfish. I would love to run the 200m, but the 400m is where I have the talent.”
But clocking his world-class times takes its toll, he said, admitting he threw up after each tough 400m race.
“I never throw up after training, but every time I race hard, a personal best … In Paris I had to walk past the interview area, pretending not to see them, and go find a place … I threw up next to an ambulance.”
Van Niekerk’s nausea in Beijing could be good for SA’s medal tally.
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