Wayde Van Niekerk
Patience, humility and dedication
Wayde van Niekerk is an uncontested 400-metre Olympic champion and world record holder. The track and field champion from South Africa has been sprinting into the record books and the highest podiums in the world. This long trek would not have been possible without patience, humility and dedication.
‘I am personally always physically chasing time to make myself better, to improve as an athlete. In the end, time means progress for me. I don’t think I have any limits. As long as I’m in good health and I stay motivated, I’ll keep going faster.’
Wayde Van Niekerk
Chasing time
Despite initially striving to improve his times in the 100 and 200 metres, Wayde took the advice of his coach Anna Sofia, who encouraged him to concentrate on the 400 metres. In 2014, he leapt into the spotlight by clinching two silver medals in the 400 metres at the African Championships and the Diamond League in New York, as well as a gold medal in the 4x100 metres relay. In 2015, he became World Champion, crowning a glorious season in which he remained unbeaten in the 200 and 400 metres. In 2017, Wayde won the 400 metres at the World Championships for the second time.
Wayde is the first sprinter to have achieved personal best times of under 10 seconds in the 100 metres, under 20 seconds in the 200 metres and under 44 seconds in the 400 metres. He continues to set new African records and achieved a spectacular feat in the 400 metres by crossing the finish line in 43.03 s, beating the world record set in 1999 by Michael Johnson by 15/100ths of a second! He has also held the world record in the 300 metres since 2018.
A partner since 2016, Wayde wears the RM 67-02 Automatic Sprint which was specifically developed for optimum comfort, technical sophistication and dynamic lines.
‘In Richard’s watches, every detail is important and nothing is superfluous; the same applies to me as a sportsman dealing with challenges in the domain of microseconds that differentiate winning and losing.’
Wayde Van Niekerk
Podiums only
At the beginning of 2016, he took part in the 100-metre dash for the first time in five years and completed the race in 9”98, becoming the first sprinter to hold a personal best under 10 seconds in the 100-metres, 20 seconds in the 200-metre and 44 seconds in the 400-metre sprints. In June, the still unvanquished athlete set a new record for the African continent and the world’s third best time ever in the 300-metre dash. In 2016, Wayde achieved one of the year’s most spectacular feats, crossing the finishing line of the 400-metre dash in 43”03, fifteen hundredths of a second faster than the world record set in 1999 by Michael Johnson. Since 2018, he has also held the world record for the 300-metre.