‘Nervous’ Van Niekerk through to 400m semi-finals
Defending Olympic champion Wayde van Niekerk has qualified for the semi-final of the 400m race at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
The world record holder finished third in his heat on Sunday - in a time of 45.25 - the 12th fastest time of the day.
American Michael Cherry won the heat in 44.86, followed by Botswana’s Isaac Makwala in the second place.
Speaking after the race, Van Niekerk admitted to some pre-race nerves.
"I had quite a bit of nerves that I had to shake out today," said van Niekerk.
"I had a good 200 metres, shut down a bit too soon, but I'm sure the more I do this, the more I'll start getting more control.
"I'm in the semis and I feel positive and I feel good.”
Van Niekerk hopes to inspire South Africans who have recently been faced by tough times.
"My country is going through so much right now - so much stress and so much disappointments and pains.
"I just want to try my best to be a shining light at this moment - fighting through my injuries and setbacks and just being somewhat of a positive for the rest of the country."
The three semi-finals are scheduled to take place tomorrow afternoon from 13:05 (SA time).
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