Cape Town - He ran a new personal best in the 300m last week, but now Wayde van Niekerk will go back to his preferred 400m at the adidas Boost Boston Games in the US on Saturday morning SA time.
Van Niekerk has come off nearly two weeks of training in Jamaica, and had the first five days with Usain Bolt and his coaching camp in Kingston.
SA 100m record holder Akani Simbine and 400m World Student champion Justine Palframan was also part of the training group.
Van Niekerk ran a thrilling 31.03 in the seldom-run 300m to beat 400m rival LaShawn Merritt of the United States and set the third-fastest time in history behind Michael Johnson (30.85) and Bolt (30.97).
Simbine ended sixth in the 100m in 10.01, with Bolt speeding away to a brilliant 9.88, while Palframan – who is making her way back from injury – was well down in the field in 53.01.
Now all three will have their final tune-up for next weekend’s African Championships at the Kings Park Athletics Stadium in Durban in Boston, with Van Niekerk facing a relatively modest field in the 400m on Friday evening (early Saturday morning SA time), where American Tony McQuay will be his only real challenge.
McQuay is somewhat of a relay specialist and won gold with the US team in the 4x400m at the last two world championships in Moscow (2013) and Beijing (2015), while he also has a silver medal from the 2012 London Olympics in the same event.
Van Niekerk will be running in his favourite 200m at the African Champs next week.
Simbine will have his work cut out on Saturday night US time in the final event of the meet, with Saturday’s action taking place on a special track that will be laid down on Charles Street, with the finish line in front of Macy’s flagship department store in downtown Boston.
That will result in space for just five athletes, with Simbine – who will be doing the 100m and 200m at the African Championships in Durban – taking on Jamaica’s world-class sprinters Yohan Blake and Warren Weir, as well as Trinidad and Tobago’s Keston Bledman and Marvin Bracy of the US.
Palframan will also be running on Friday with Van Niekerk at the Dilboy Stadium instead, taking part in the 400m, although she will be concentrating on the 200m in Durban.
Van Niekerk is hoping to put into practice some of the lessons he learnt from Bolt and Co in Jamaica. “I’m way too hard on myself now and then,” the letsrun.com website reported Van Niekerk as saying at a press conference in Boston on Thursday. “The guys back in Jamaica are so relaxed and so chilled. So I definitely picked up some tips to chill a bit more.”
@IndyCapeSport