The Free State MEC for Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation Mrs. Mathabo Leeto would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Wayde van Niekerk for winning gold medal for the men’s 400m race at the 2017 IAAF World Championships held in London from 04 – 13 August 2017. Wayde van Niekerk stormed to the first part of his potential golden double as he retained his world 400m title with a dominant display and finished the race at 43.98 seconds easing up a full 15 metres from the finish line.
Van Niekerk is also a South African Olympic Gold medalist having won the men’s 400m race at the 2016 Rio Olympics and a world record holder. He recently won the 300m race at the 2017 Golden Spike in Ostrava, Czech Republic as he stopped the clock at 30.81 seconds. In her congratulatory message MEC Leeto said, “Wayde van Niekerk is one of many athletes who have trained at the Free State Sport Science Institute (FSSSI) and he is a proud product of this institution. Moreover, he continues to enjoy massive support from the department and we are very proud of him as a province.”
“We will continue to support and develop Free State athletes to be formidable contenders at international platforms hence there is a lot of talent in the province that we continue to unearth. In this regard talent identification through various programmes is imperative for the department, especially in rural areas of our province, hence Wayde was also identified at a very early stage.” concluded MEC Leeto.
Enquiries:
Tankiso Zola
Cell: 082 940 2392
Tel: 051 – 4104742/4786/4735
Email: tankiso@sacr.fs.gov.za
