Wayde van Niekerk wins men’s 400m final at world championships

However, the South African then collapsed on the track exhausted and was taken straight off to hospital for medical treatment.

South African Wayde van Niekerk scorched to a remarkable victory in the men’s 400m at the World Championships in Beijing, China, on Wednesday.

The South African ran the fastest time this year in the one-lap event to claim gold ahead of both former champions, the 23-year-old holding onto his lead in the final 100m as he finished in 43.48secs.

It was the first time in history five throwers recorded marks beyond 87 meters in a championship final.

“It’s insane. We’re warriors”. We’ll rise to the occasion. “I love this. I love this sport”, he said. I will take that, go home and come back and cause some problems.

Grenadian James, one of the heavy favourites to take his second World title, was forced to settle for bronze in a season-best 43.78 seconds, with Van Niekerk storming to a world-leading 43.48. “A once-in-a-lifetime race and I am glad to be part of a special group of 400m runners in this era”. “I tried to come out and put in a decent performance but it was just beyond my reach”.

With the personal best of 19.94 he ran in the 200 metres earlier this year, he joined Michael Johnson, Merritt and Isaac Makwala as the only athletes to have gone under 20 seconds in the 200 and 44 seconds in the 400.