Most Olympians prepare for their events by listening to music and pacing about. This 24-year-old man has a story to tell like none other. He chose not to bite his nails and hide from the camera ahead of his major event, instead, he chose to see his favorite English Premier League club Liverpool take on rivals Arsenal at Emirates Stadium just before competing in the biggest race of his career at the Rio Olympics 2016.
Jurgen Klopp’s side secured a 4-3 win over their London counterparts in a cracker of a match and the Olympian watching the game went on to break the World Record for men’s 400m moments later. The Olympian who bagged this historic gold medal last night is South African sprinter Wayde van Niekerk.
“I’ve got the world record now, and I’ve got Liverpool!” Van Niekerk said. “I’ve got a lot to brag about!” “My brother is an Arsenal fan, too, so it was just a great night” he joked.
Also Read: Olympic 400m champion Van Niekerk inspired by Bolt
Manchester United have their fastest fan in superstar Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt but the Liverpool Club now has its fastest fan too in Wayde van Niekerk. The South African’s 43.04 bested a 17-year-old record set by Michael Johnson in Seville in 1999.
“I watched the Liverpool match before [the race], I was losing my mind because it was a tight match. We get the win,” he said after the race.
The football match probably initially exacerbated van Niekerk's pre-race jitters, as the Merseyside club was 1-0 down due to Theo Walcott’s goal. But it all worked out for the best for the sprinter, as a 4-1 lead in favor of Liverpool would have surely calmed him. It was partially the great match result that contributed to the optimism that the sprinter had ahead of the race about breaking the world record. In a post-race interview, the gold medalist said, “I believed I could get the world record. I’ve dreamed of this medal forever.” “I am blessed.”
It seems as fellow competitors were expecting the 24-year-old to go on and steal the limelight but even they admitted to being astonished by his time. LaShawn Merritt, a fellow 400m competitor, admitted to the absurdity of the time record set by van Niekerk. “I knew the time was going to be fast, but I didn’t think it was going to be 43.0 fast. It is what it is. You take it,” “he ran his heart out.”
