South Africa’s Wayde Van Niekerk breaks world record in Men’s 400m at Rio Olympics

Wayde Van Niekerk from South Africa shattered an almost two-decade old world record in the Men’s 400m at the 2016 Rio Olympics

Coming into the Men’s 400m at the 2016 Rio Olympics, South African Wayde Van Neikerk wasn’t the most well-known commodity. As he lined up on the outside in Lane 8, he was already at a seeming disadvantage in regards to positioning. Moreover, he was in the field with the last two Olympic gold medalists in the event. Needless to say, it looked as if the odds were stacked against him despite his prowess in the race.

However, Van Niekerk got off of the blocks quite quickly and was seemingly in the lead. LaShawn Merritt was trying his damnedest to get off to an equally fast start as well to defend his gold medal. However, it looked as if the young South African runner still had the edge.

As the two runners came around the final turn, it was clear that Van Niekerk wasn’t just ahead of Merritt and the rest of the field—he was leaving them in the dust. Even more incredible, though, he didn’t let up from his initial pace in the slightest. When he crossed the finish line, the clock read 43.03 seconds—a new world record.

Setting a world record at any point in any event is always impressive. However, Van Niekerk broke a record that had stood for 17 years. American track and field legend Michael Johnson set the world record all the way back in 1999 at a meet in Sevilla, Spain. It had stood from that point on until Sunday night in Rio.

This is an incredible accomplishment from Van Niekerk to come out and not only win against stark competition, but to do so in such emphatic fashion. He made himself a name that won’t soon be forgotten—and did it in under 44 seconds.