World Record (WR) holder Wayde Van Niekerk retained his 400m title, racing to a time of 43.98s to comfortably win the race on Day 5 of the IAAF World Championships in London.
In a race marred by the withdrawal of Isaac Makwala before the final over the outbreak of gastroenteritis at the Championships that left him hospitalized, Van Niekerk was never ruffled in the final as he led from start to finish.
Bahamaian Steven Gardiner finished 2nd in 44.41s, with Botswana’s Babaloki Thebe narrowly missing a place on the podium as Abdalelah Haroun came storming in the last 30m to take Bronze in 44.48s.
For Van Niekerk, it is the third successive global title he is winning, dating back to 2015 in Beijing where he ran an astonishing 43.48s to win then.
On his ability to retain the world title, Van Niekerk said: “It is amazing to win the world title. It is a blessing. I hope the fans enjoyed that. I’m used to the lactic (acid in legs) but I need a few minutes to recover from that effort and I’ll be fine.
“I’ve got a good team who will help me recover well for the 200m and I’m looking forward to that,” the South African further added on his preparation for the 200m.
There’s an argument that with Makwala missing the race, there was nobody to push Van Niekerk who many expected would have run faster than the winning time he recorded on the night. Meanwhile, Haroun who won Bronze became the first Asian medallist in the 400m.
In one of the biggest upsets of the night, French athlete Pierre-Ambroise Bosse emerged victorious in a tactical battle to win the men’s 800m in 1:44.67. Adam Kszczot won Silver in 1:44.95, while Kipyegon Bett finished 3rd in 1:44.95.
It summed up the kind of day Botswana had with Nijel Amos not being able to medal having finished 6th with a time of 1:45.83 .