Wayde van Niekerk - The long-overdue replacement for Usain Bolt

Wayde van Niekerk's Rio Olympics appearance was one of the most spine-tingling debuts of all time.

As the coverage started, the commentators built Usain Bolt up as the main course, unaware that they were about to witness an incredible upset. But 300m into the race, the South African sprinter unleashed a finish that put everyone on the edge of their seats.

He broke the world - as well as the Olympic - 400m record, to etch his name in the history books forever.

Van Niekerk wasn't exactly unknown when he strode onto the track in Rio; he was already a gold medallist at the 2015 World Athletics Championships in Beijing. And he continued his fantastic form post-Rio as well, winning the gold at the 2017 World Athletics Championships in London.

Wayde van Niekerk's injury woes

Two months after the London performance Wayde attended an exhibition rugby match featuring non-rugby South African celebrities as well, where he tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). He had been out of action since then until his participation in a 200m race at Boston last week.

However, he pulled up about 20-30m from the finish and limped to the finish line, putting it down to a niggle in his hip.

Wayde van Niekerk has a very tight timeline to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics. So far he hasn't set any time under the qualifying standards for either the 200m (20.24 seconds) or the 400m (44.90 seconds) in the qualifying window.

The 28-year-old has lived in the US Ever since he switched coaches. And that has made it difficult for him to travel out to races taking place in Europe and elsewhere (especially the Diamond League events) almost every week until Tokyo.

Wayde van Niekerk - Usain Bolt's replacement?

Even Usain thinks so!

This is a sport that's not exactly starved of showboating sprinters. But quite a few of those have disgraced themselves by doping (Ben Johnson and Justin Gatlin), among other disappointments that they have foisted on fans.

In that regard, Wayde van Niekerk has been a welcome departure with his unique personality. In fact, much like Canada's Andre De Grasse - another sprinter touted as Usain Bolt's successor before he too was beset injury woes - Van Niekerk is a refreshingly different sort of athlete.

Another uncommon feature of his career is that he was coached by a woman, Tannie Ans Botha, until switching to Lance Brauman in early 2021.

Wayde Van Niekerk is also one of the most exhilarating runners to watch, having set a world record at the 400m final at the Rio Olympics. That's something you don't often see in these days of tactical racing, with professionals earning their incentives and appearance money at Diamond Leagues and other meets.

In the process, Van Niekerk matched the feats of Michael Johnson (200m at Atlanta in 1996) and David Rudisha (800m at London in 2012), among other athletes who have set world records while winning gold at the Olympics.

Wayde van Niekerk's career arc has also been unusual. He started out in 200m (and even 100m) early in his career but switched to 400m before Beijing, tasting outstanding success.

Since 2017, the South African has been back to focussing on 200m. But he could possibly take a shot at 400m as well. And if he does manage that, Van Niekerk could attempt to match yet another incredible achievement by Michael Johnson - the 200m / 400m double gold at the same Olympics.

That is something we don't see often these days, given that most sprinters tend to avoid the 100m / 200m double. However, there are some elite runners who have tried the 800m / 1500m combination and, much less commonly, the 400m / 800m double. That could be partly down to the demands of the events themselves and the unique physiologies of the athletes.

Wayde van Niekerk has a month in which to qualify for Tokyo, and if does manage that, it will be well worth the wait to see him perform. Even if he doesn't, it's unlikely he's done blowing our minds.