8 things that happened for the first time ever at the 2016 Rio Olympics

#5 Wayde van Niekerk becomes first South African to hold the 400m World Record

Van Niekerk became the first South African to hold the 400m World Record

South Africa is one of the greatest sporting nations in the world and they seem to have a conveyor belt of champions, who hail from different sports. Athletics seem to be South Africa’s forte when it comes to the Olympics and they have produced stars like Reggie Walker, Ken McArthur, Bevil Rudd, Sydney Atkinson, Josia Thugwane and Caster Semenya among others.

Though South Africa won 10 medals at the 2016 Rio Olympics, none would be as special as the one won by Wayde van Niekerk, who smashed Michael Johnson’s long standing 400m World Record to win the gold medal. Van Niekerk, who was up against the likes of Lashawn Merritt and Kirani James, did not have the best of starts and despite being the world champion, he was far from the favourite to bring home the gold. However, in the 400m final, the South African turned on the after burners to clock 43.03 and smash Johnson’s record by 0.15 seconds. The record was set by Johnson in 1999 and van Niekerk’s celebrations showed why exactly what it meant to him.