Wayde van Niekerk: Early life, Accident & Net worth
Wayde van Niekerk is a famous South African track and field sprinter. Moreover, he generally competes in the 200 and 400 meters.
Interestingly, he is the recent world and Olympic record holder in the 400 meters event. In addition, he even holds the world-best time in the 300 meters event.
Similarly, Van Niekerk is the first sprinter to run 100 meters in 10 seconds, 200 meters in 20 seconds, and 400 meters in 44 seconds. Moreover, he made this history in 2016.
Evidently, Van Niekerk is the only sprinter in history to run sub-10, sub-20, sub-31, and sub-34 performances at 100m, 200m, 300m & 400m, respectively, breaking Michael Johnson’s world-best time of 30.85.
Moreover, he set the world record time of 43.03 seconds in the 2016 Olympic Games men’s 400m by beating the 43.18 seconds set by Michael Johnson.
So, how well do you know about this South African track and field sprinter? In this article, you will find the detailed information about Van Niekerk.
Quick Facts
Here are some astonishing quick facts about Wayde van Niekerk:
| Full Name | Wayde van Niekerk |
| Date of birth | July 15, 1992 |
| Birthplace | Kraaifontein, Cape Province, South Africa |
| Age | [calculate_years datestring=”07/15/1992″] Years old |
| Parents | Father’s name- Wayne van Niekerk Steven Swarts (step-father) Mother’s name- Odessa Swarts |
| Siblings | Not available |
| Nationality | South African |
| Religion | Christianity |
| Ethnicity | Not available |
| Zodiac Sign | Cancer |
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) |
| Weight | 70 kg (154 lbs) |
| Body Type | Athletic |
| Eye Color | Light Brown |
| Hair Color | Black |
| Sexual Orientation | Straight |
| School | Bellville Primary & Simonberg Primary |
| College | Grey College |
| University | University of the Free State |
| Wife | Chesney Campbell Niekerk |
| Children | Not available |
| Profession | Track and field sprinter |
| Achievements and Titles | 100 m: 9.94 (2017) 200 m:19.84 (2017) 300m: 30.81 WB (2017) 400m: 43.03 WR (2016) |
| Representing Country | South Africa |
| Team | Adidas |
| Coaches | Lance Brauman Ans Botha (2012-2021) |
| Manager | Peet van Zyl |
| Sponsors | Adidas, Audi South Africa, Fifteen27 Productions, Discovery South Africa, Richard Millie, |
| Salary | Not specified |
| Net worth | $3 million |
| Year active | 2010-present |
| Merch | Wayde van Niekerk: Road to Glory |
| Social Network | Instagram, Facebook, Website, Twitter, |
| Last update | [current-month], [current-year] |
Wayde van Niekerk: Early life, Education, and Family
Van Niekerk was born on July 15, 1992, in Kraaifontein, Cape Town, South Africa. Likewise, he was born to sprinter Odessa Swarts Niekerk and Wayne van Niekerk.
Moreover, his mother was an inspiration for track and field sprinters. Sadly, his biological parents are divorced. Likewise, his mother is married to Steven Swarts.
Sadly, when Wayde was born, he was premature and needed a blood transfusion. Yet, despite this medical history, he was born with a miracle to be athletic.
Additionally, he is the cousin of the South African rugby union and rugby player Cheslin Kolbe.
Moreover, he and his cousin used to play rugby in junior school in Cape Town. Interestingly, they were on the same team.
Wayde van Niekerk: Educational Background
Regarding Van Niekerk’s educational background, firstly, he attended Bellville Primary.
However, when they moved to Bloemfontein with his step-father and mom in 2005, he joined Simonberg Primary.
Furthermore, he went to Grey College. Similarly, he is a marketing graduate from the University of the Free State.
Interestingly, the athlete is a die-hard fan of Liverpool Football Club.
Wayde van Niekerk: Body measurements and Religion
The track and field sprinter has an athletic body type. Likewise, he stands 6vft 0 in (1.83m) tall and weighs around 70 kg (154lbs).
Furthermore, he has black color hair and has light brown eye color.
Moreover, July’s born sprinter zodiac sign is Cancer. As the traits of Cancer, he is incredibly nurturing and committed.
Likewise, he is Christian by the religion. He tweeted “Jesus Did It” and “GOD IS POWER” after setting the world record in the 400 meters event.
Wayde van Niekerk: Marital Status
Wayde van Niekerk is married to Chesney Campbell. The couple got married on 29 October 2017.
Similarly, the couple announced in July that they are going to have a boy through his Instagram account.
Likewise, his wife Chesney is a food sociologist. In addition, she also takes care of his diet and nutrition.
Wayde van Niekerk: Career
Early Career
Wayde van Niekerk made his professional debut in the 2010 World Junior Championships.
Interestingly, he made a personal best time of 21.02 despite being fourth in the 200m event.
Likewise, he also participated in the 400m relays with the national team. Moreover, the sprinter competed alongside Gideon Trotter.
Furthermore, his senior breakthrough arrived in the 2011 South African Athletics championships by winning the 200m race title in a new personal best time of 20.57 seconds. Evidently, he was just eighteen at that time.
Additionally, the athlete competed in the same event in the 2011 African junior Athletics championships. However, he was not able to make it to the final.
Similarly, he showed his talent for the 400m event by sparingly running and setting the best time of 46.43 seconds in 2012.
Emergence as a 400m Runner
He emerged as a 400m runner in the 2013 season. Surprisingly, he won the second national title in the 2013 South African Championships by winning a sub-46-second time.
Likewise, he won the IAAF Meeting de Dakar by improving his best time to 45.09 seconds.
Sadly, the runner narrowly missed out on the final as the fastest non-qualifier in the 2013 Summer Universiade.
However, he reached the podium and received his first international medal in the 4×100 meters relay.
Furthermore, Niekerk competed in the 2014 Commonwealth Games and won his first individual senior medal over 400m with 44.68 seconds.
Rise to fame
Interestingly, 2015 is considered as the start of rising of Van Niekerk’s fame.
Likewise, he managed to lower his South African record below 44 seconds by a 3.96 second in the Meeting Areva.
Similarly, he won a 200m race in the Luzern Spitzen Leichtathletik with 19.94 seconds.
Additionally, this also made him the second man in the history to complete the 200m race under 20 seconds and the 400m race under 4seconds.
Furthermore, a month after this event, he represented his country, South Africa, in the 2015 World Championships.
Moreover, Van became the 107th athlete to break the 10-second barrier in the 100 meters.
Similarly, he is the first South African athlete to land two individual sprint medals at a single meet by winning the 400m and 200m world title in the 2017 World Championships in Athletes.
Olympics Career
Wayde van Niekerk qualified for the Summer Olympics in 2016 and became the flag bearer for South Africa.
Likewise, he set a World record time of 43.03 seconds by winning the Gold medal in the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Interestingly, he broke the record time of Michael Johnson’s from 1999.
Similarly, Wayde is the only man to have won the Olympics or World 400m from lane eight.
Furthermore, he also won the Best Male Athlete of the Rio 2016 Olympics ward in the Association of National Olympics Committees.
Due to injury, Niekerk failed to reach the 400m race final at the 2020 Olympics held in Tokyo.
Wayde van Niekerk: Achievements and Titles
At a glance, he has won six gold medals and four silver medals in the different major international competitions.
Universiade
The event in Kazan in 2013 was really heartening for him because he managed to win his first international medal in the event.
Interestingly, Wayde won the silver medal in the 4×400 meter relay event.
Continental Cup
Van Niekerk represented Africa in the 4×400 meter relay event in the 2014.
Similarly, the event was held in Marrakesh, where he grabbed the Gold medal.
African Championships
Interestingly, he won two gold medals in this championship.
The sprinter won a medal in the 200 meters event and the 4×400 meter relay held in Durban.
Similarly, he grabbed the silver medal in the 400 meters event in 2014 held in Marrakesh.
Commonwealth Games
Niekerk won the silver medal in the 400 meters event held in Glasglow.
World Championships
Van managed to win the gold medal in the 2015 Beijing and 2017 London in the 400 meters event.
Likewise, he also won the silver medal in the 2017 London in the 200 meters event.
Olympics Games
Van has won one gold medal in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro in the 400 meters event.
Wayde van Niekerk: Coaches and Manager
Initially, he was coached by Lance Brauman. Sadly, there is no information about his former coach.
However, from 2012 to the present, he is being coached by Ans Botha.
Moreover, she is also known as Tannie Ans to her athletes, Afrikaans for Aunty Ans.
Similarly, the African track and field sprinter’s manager is Peet van Zyl.
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Wayde van Niekerk: Sponsors
Interestingly, Wayde van Niekerk is sponsored by different brands.
Moreover, he often shares posts to promote his sponsors on his different social media account.
Similarly, his primary sponsor is Adidas. In addition, he is sponsored by other different brands like Audi South Africa, Fifteen27 Productions, Discovery South Africa, and Richard Millie.
Wayde van Niekerk: Accidents
Van Niekerk participated in the celebrity-funded match that was sponsored by FC soccer on October 31, 2017.
However, sadly, during the match, he made an inverted cut and tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). So his treatment began right away.
Sadly, despite his surgery after the injury, he was unable to attend any events in 2018.
Furthermore, the athlete went through intense rehabilitation to prepare for the beginning of the 2019 season and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Moreover, since his injury, the major race he participated in was in London’s IAAF Diamond League event in July.
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Wayde van Niekerk: Net worth
The estimated net worth of Wayde van Niekerk is $3 million – $4 million.
Moreover, sadly, there is no exact information about his annual income and his monthly salary.
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Wayde van Niekerk: Social Media Presence
Van Niekerk is present in different social media. However, he is vividly active on Instagram.
Likewise, his posts are primarily based on his professional life. Moreover, he usually shares posts about his sponsors to promote them.
In addition to this, Wayde also shares photos about his personal life to let his fans have a closer look into his life behind the sports.
Similarly, he has around 356k followers on his account. Additionally, his account is verified.
Likewise, the runner is available on Twitter as well. He has over 131k followers with a verification mark on his account.
Evidently, he tweets about the Jesus and his different sponsor.
In addition, he has his own official website as well. Likewise, he is available on Facebook as well with over 96k followers, a verified account.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How many national titles has Wayde van Niekerk won so far?
Wayde van Niekerk has won around eight national titles in different years. Likewise, his major wins were on 100m, 200m & 400m events.
What was #ColouredExcellence about?
When Van Niekerk won Olympics, there was a racial debate after a tweetstorm when Coloured South Africans celebrated his win by creating the hashtag #ColouredExcellence.
