adminRIO DE JANEIRO. — Wayde van Niekerk said he’s given clean athletes a boost with his blistering 400m world record — and admitted that even he didn’t believe such a time was possible without drugs. The South African produced a run for the ages at the Rio Olympics, when he tore round the outside lane to smash Michael Johnson’s hallowed, 17-year-old mark. Athletics’ battered reputation means every record attracts questions about drugs, but van Niekerk said his performances showed could what be accomplished clean.
“I think it could be a good testimony to other athletes who want to play the game clean,” he said.
“I thought you had to use something to run a sub-44, and look where I am today.
And I’ve done it clean and I’ve done it simply by pure hard work and dedication.
“If I can be a testimony, I think anyone else can do it, if I could be an example for that,” he said in an interview at the Visa Everywhere Lounge at Copacabana beach. — AFP.
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