Wayde van Niekerk came within a whisker of completing the 200m and 400m double at the World Athletics Championships but it looks like that’s as close as he will ever get.
The South African took silver in the 200m behind Turkey’s Ramil Guliyev on Thursday after claiming gold in the 400m earlier in the week but has vowed never to attempt the double again.
The 400m world record holder has earned a reputation for being quick over all three sprints — he is a sub-10 second 100m runner and has a best time in the 200m of 19.84 seconds.
For now, Van Niekerk says he’ll be focusing on one event at major championships in the future.
“I’d love to improve all three events but I’m definitely not doubling up again,” van Niekerk told CNN’s World Sport.
Van Niekerk was attempting to emulate the feats of American sprinter Michael Johnson — the last man to complete the 200m and 400m world double at the 1995 championships in Gothenburg.
After six races in as many days, the 25-year-old could be forgiven for feeling exhausted at the prospect of competing in two events again but he has no regrets about attempting the double in London.
“I think it was a tough six days for myself,” he said. “I really tried my best to give my best every single day because I knew every day would be a new challenge … I really feel the championship was a success.”
“I always knew it was going to be a very difficult competition. I knew it was going to take a lot out of my body. I’ve never really challenged my body to this extent and I proven that I’ve done a good job.”
