The South African sprinter  Wayde van Niekerk  took part this Sunday, May 23 at the Adidas Boston Game.  Aligned on the 200m, the Olympic champion of the 400m (Rio 2016) did not finish the race.  Van Niekerk indeed stopped about 30 meters from the finish line.  The 400m record holder even continued to limp after crossing the line.  The race was won by Canadian Jerome Blake in 19.86 followed by world champion in the 400m, Bahamian Steven Gardiner.

According to his trainer Lance Braumen, van Niekerk is doing well, he “squeezed a little in his right hip and decided to stop the race” This incident is still worrying since the 28-year-old athlete had missed all of 2018 and most of 2019 after a knee injury to the same leg.  The 400m specialist had also made his return to the tracks last March during the South African athletics championships.  He won gold in the 200m with a time of 20.38 seconds.  The South African is also expected this week in Florida for his first 400m race this season.