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By Ashfak Mohamed 
1h in the past
CAPE TOWN – “TRUST the method. I’m constructing on one thing utterly completely different.”
That’s what Wayde van Niekerk posted on Twitter after rising victorious within the 200m on the Athletics South Africa Invitational in Johannesburg on Tuesday.
And didn’t he simply should “belief the method” in that race. His good mate Akani Simbine had taken him head-on, blasting out of the blocks to create a lead over the primary 100 metres.
Simply because it appeared as if Van Niekerk had caught up with him on the bend, although, Simbine put in one other ahead spurt.
At that time, it appeared just like the 100m star had sufficient fuel to go all the way in which, however whereas Van Niekerk stored going at a constant tempo, Simbine started slowing down and the 400m Olympic champion sauntered forward within the final 10 metres.
Van Niekerk needed to “belief the method” on the Ruimsig Athletics Stadium. He may simply have panicked after seeing Simbine take the lead, but he kept calm and didn’t push himself unnecessarily.
The time of 20.10 seconds was a terrific one from Van Niekerk at this stage of the season. He’s on a brand new plan of action, having left the secure of long-time coach Ans Botha in Bloemfontein and becoming a member of American Lance Brauman.
Whereas he’s nonetheless awaiting clearance documentation to hyperlink up with Brauman – who additionally has 200m world champion Noah Lyles in his group – in Florida, Van Niekerk advised the media current on the observe on Tuesday that he has already taken instruction from his new mentor, which is why he has but to run a 400m race this yr.
It’s all about build up his pace in the mean time, and that can tackle one other dimension as soon as he’s coaching and racing with Lyles in the USA and within the upcoming Diamond League conferences, which begins in Rabat, Morocco on 23 Might and continues to 13 July in London earlier than the Tokyo Olympics.
ALSO READ: Wayde van Niekerk ready for ‘massive opportunity’ against Akani Simbine in 200m
In fact he desires to reclaim the gold medal he received in Rio in 2016, however maybe an excellent larger aim for Van Niekerk this yr is to attain what no different athlete has earlier than – setting a brand new world file by working a sub-43 second time within the 400m.
That’s the reason the constructing blocks that he’s putting in in the mean time are so vital to the 28-year-old. He already did the primary half by getting his physique into optimum form through the prolonged low season, with competitions delayed because of Covid-19 lockdown restrictions.
And whereas he’s nonetheless undecided whether or not he’ll participate within the nationwide championships from 15-17 April – he mentioned on Tuesday that he’ll do “whichever comes first” between being cleared to journey to the US or working in Pretoria – Van Niekerk is again on observe, actually and figuratively, with these two 200m races in South Africa.
It looks like he’s going to be even higher ready for the Tokyo Video games this yr in comparison with Rio – and we all know what occurred then.
@AshfakMohamed
IOL Sport
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