South Africa’s Wayde van Niekerk remains the world’s fastest 400m runner

South African athlete Wayde van Niekerk keeps on flying… despite airline cancellations and delays! The 31-year old remains undefeated in 2023 as he triumphed in the 400m event at the London Diamond League athletics meet on Sunday.

But he almost didn’t make it, when a delayed flight meant he arrived late at Heathrow Airport and missed out on the pre-race press conference. (Europe has been beset by airline cancellations and delays during a very heated summer.)

During the race, Van Niekerk maintained a steady pace and successfully held off American runners Bryce Deadmon and Vernon Norwood. Van Niekerk secured his third Diamond League victory of the season with an impressive time of 44.36 seconds, while Deadmon came second in 44.40 and Norwood took third place with 44.46. Watch below…

Also don’t miss the wonderful moment last week when Wayde was presented with a birthday cake and song at a press conference. (Video below.)

WATCH Wayde van Niekerk wins again

Wayde van Niekerk 🔥

The South African continues his return to form with a brilliant win in the Men's 400m in a time of 44.36s.

📺 Stream #LondonDL live: https://t.co/ACEUH7ehZ3 pic.twitter.com/6ll460B9Fy

— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) July 23, 2023

If you can’t view the above in your region, try this:

https://twitter.com/Track_Gazette/status/1683121950061899776

And in case you missed it, here’s the moment Wayde received a birthday cake last week:

That feeling when you turn up to a press conference and get given a cake 🎂

Happy 31st birthday @waydedreamer!#SilesiaDL 🇵🇱#DiamondLeague pic.twitter.com/NQ9mbsjB4s

— Wanda Diamond League (@Diamond_League) July 15, 2023

Source: TeamSA