PARISSouth African 400m world record holder Wayde van Niekerk says he is "100% ready" to hit the track again after two years spent on the sidelines with injury. The Olympic and two-time former world 400m champion damaged knee ligaments in October 2017 while playing in a celebrity touch rugby match that preceded a South Africa-New Zealand Test in Cape Town. "There were days when I couldn't walk," Van Niekerk told the Paris edition of the Diamond League Call Room in an interview set to air on social media on Saturday. Van Niekerk, who ran the world record of 43.03 seconds when winning 400m gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics, added: "My body is feeling good. But Van Niekerk argued that it was perhaps easier for him to accept the thought of not competing.

Source: Daily Nation June 13, 2020 03:22 UTC