Van Niekerk Breaks 300-Meter World Best, Bolt Leads Quartet of Other Olympic Champions to Wins in Ostrava

By Adam Kopet, DyeStat Editor

Wayde Van Niekerk wanted to be ridiculous in Ostrava and he did just the that on Wednesday. The South African Olympic champion at 400 meters dropped down in distance to a special 300-meter event. He not only won, but broke the world best, running 30.81.

Van Niekerk came into this year ranked #3 all-time over 300 meters, behind Michael Johnson (30.85) and Usain Bolt (30.97). He surpassed both men according to Track and Field News, breaking Bolt's meet record in the process.

"I'm just pleased and grateful for this big achievement," Van Niekerk told the IAAF.

Van Niekerk is now the first man to ever break 10 seconds in the 100, 20 seconds in the 200, 31 seconds in the 300 and 44 seconds in the 400.

Van Niekerk's mark is considered a world best and not a world record, because the IAAF does not recognize the 300 meters as a record eligible event.

Isaac Makwala of Botswana finished second in Ostrava in 31.44. That is #8 performance all-time and makes him the #5 performer in the world all-time.

Bolt was also in action in Ostrava, running the 100 meters. The time was not what Bolt had hoped for. He won in 10.06, just ahead of Yunier Perez of Cuba in 10.09.

Citing back problems, Bolt is behind on his fitness, but he expects to be in form come August's IAAF World Outdoor Championships in London.

Other stars in action in Ostrava included Mo Farah in his final non-championship 10,000-meter race of his career. He won in 27:12.09. Just behind Farah was Kenyan teenager Matthew Kimeli in 27:14.43. This was Kimeli's third 10,000-meter race in 18 days. No other athlete broke 28 minutes.

Christian Taylor came away the winner in the triple jump. His winning jump of 57-7.75 (17.57m) added two inches to his own meet record.

Thomas Rohler of Germany won the javelin with a mark of 300-3 (91.53m), dominating the competition.