With just 0.02 seconds slower, 25-year-old Wyeid Van Nikek nearly recreated Michael Johnson's "doubles" in the 400m and 200m at the 1995 World Championships in Athletics in Gothenburg.
When both Bolt and Gatling missed the 200m at the London World Championships, Van Nikek, who easily won the 400m gold medal, had high hopes.
Unfortunately, in the final 10 meters of the final, Van Nikek was overtaken by Ramil Guliev, who represented Turkey, who won the championship with a time of 20.09 seconds, breaking a big upset.
"I have no regrets about not winning the championship, this is my first time to challenge the 200m gold medal at the World Championships, I will do better in the future."
When Bolt stepped down from the "altar," Van Nikek was labeled "successor." However, to chase the footsteps of "lightning" and even complete michael Johnson's "miracle", the road under Fanny keek's feet is not easy to walk.
At the men's 400m awards ceremony at the 2017 World Championships in Athletics, Van Nikek won the gold medal. Oriental IC diagram
He cried after the game, not because he hadn't won the title
At this year's London World Championships, whenever Van Nikek appeared, the host would add a sentence when introducing, "This is the superstar among all athletes", and then the more than 70,000 spectators in the "London Bowl" would respond with enthusiastic cheers.
Van Nikek, 25, is from South Africa, but his image can be seen everywhere in the arena and even in the city of London, "Van Nikek can be seen everywhere in the huge advertisements of the endorsement brand, the magazine covers of the bookstall, the tents of the IAAF sponsors, and even the photos in the event showroom." This is a description of the British newspaper The Guardian.
Two days ago, in the 400m final, Van Nikek "dominated" the track. With about 10 meters to go before the finish line, he has slowed down and crossed the line, a scene that resembles the performance of Bolt in the 100 meters and 200 meters at the peak of that year.
Because of this, before the start of the 200m final, although Van Nikirk entered the final with an eighth place, many media have begun to "imagine" that he will complete Michael Johnson's "double" achievement.
However, in the last 10 meters of the 200-meter final track, Gulyev's "dark horse" suddenly came out, "destroying" the long-awaited performance.
After crossing the finish line, the broadcast camera kept on Van Nikek, staring at the big screen on the sidelines, and then jumping excitedly after seeing that his score was 0.001 seconds faster than third-place Richards. After all, this is the first time he has won a silver medal in the 200m, and before that, it was a battlefield "monopolized" by the likes of Bolt, Gatlin and Blake.
Unexpectedly, however, while passing through the mixed interview area, the originally excited Van Nikek suddenly cried, which was not a cry of joy, but left with sad and suppressed tears.
"In fact, after I won the 400m, many people said I didn't deserve this gold medal." The young Van Nikek spoke to the BBC camera of his long-suppressed depression, that is, because his biggest rival in the 400 meters, Mark Walla, withdrew from the competition because of "severe gastroenteritis", and this sudden change was labeled "conspiracy".
"I respect Makwala, but he said in an interview that I was favored by the IAAF. It taught me a lesson, I'm here to race, not to make friends, now it's just the beginning, I'm going to dominate the track. ”
Van Nikek competed in the Rio Olympics 400m run and broke the world record. Visual China Information
For the sake of the old coach, he wants to "save" the track
No matter how the outside world speculates, no matter what the opponent evaluates, Van Nikek's amazing strength and huge potential are already in front of him.
After winning the 400m at the 2015 Beijing Athletics World Championships, Van Nikirk accomplished an amazing feat in the past few years – 10 seconds in the 100m, 20 seconds in the 200m, 31 seconds in the 300m, and 44s in the 400m – an unprecedented feat that even Bolt and Michael Johnson had never completed.
"Van Niceck has proven himself to be a world superstar." Bolt has more than once expressed his appreciation and affection for Van Nikek in public, and he has even "hand-picked" the young South African as his next "superstar" after leaving the game.
The birth of a superstar requires a process, and it is even more important to leave the person who does not discover and cultivate the superstar. In Van Nikek's story, this person is a silver-haired grandmother who Van Nickek likes to call "Aunt Anns."
In 2012, when Van Nikek entered the Free State University in South Africa, "Grandma Coach" Anse Botta discovered the sprinting potential of the young man. The 400m was Once Botha's favorite event, but south Africa has not had a strong enough athlete in recent years, which makes Botha very depressed.
It wasn't until both Botha and Van Nikek's life trajectories came into focus that their fates changed.
Botta not only helped Van Nikek overcome the "minor injuries" and restore a truly healthy body, but also dedicated himself to helping Van Nikek improve in sprinting technology.
"'Aunt Anse' has a very strict training system that everyone must obey." Van Nikek once said in an interview with the media that part of the reason he continues to work hard is to help the old coach who is 50 years older than himself to complete his wish.
'She wants South Africa to have a better performance in sprinting and I'm willing to 'save' this track for the coach."
Jamaica Kingston National Stadium, Bolt native farewell battle, Bolt and Van Nickerk hugged. Oriental IC data
He and Bolt are not the same superstars
On the men's 400m track, Van Nikek has become a "Bolt" – from winning the World Championships in Beijing, to the record-breaking 17-year record of Michael Johnson at the Rio Olympics, to London to complete the consecutive championships. In the 400m event, Van Nikek had a hard time matching.
Today, he is not satisfied with limiting his talent to one track.
"It's a pleasure to challenge the 200m, and at the next Commonwealth Games I will try the 100m." Before leaving the London Bowl, Van Nikek left this sentence behind.
200 meters, or even 100 meters, is Van Nikek's future goal. On the other hand, he can only qualify as a true "Bolt successor" if he is king in other events 400 meters away.
"I'm only 25 years old and there's still a lot to be done."
However, judging from the 200m final of the London World Championships, Van Niceck still has a lot to work on, and his "back-distance advantage" in the 400m has not been fully utilized in the shorter track.
Fortunately, as Bolt's ideal "successor", the Jamaican Lightning has helped Van Nikek from an early age.
Bolt had invited Van Nikek to train with him this summer, and during those two weeks, the person who mentored Van Kheek was Bolt's mentor Mills.
However, the two of them have very different personalities and personalities.
In the media reports, Bolt is unruly and even a little arrogant, after winning the game to make an exaggerated "crooked bow shooting", off the field is often associated with "addicted to junk food and video games", he is also the "nightclub prince" in the eyes of many reporters.
Van Nikek, on the other hand, was humble and low-key, and didn't celebrate much even if he won the game, while outside of competitions and training, he studied marketing at the Free State University in South Africa. According to him, "I am a simple and regular person.")
But in this age of social media, having a personality may be more loved by more people.
Andy Bull, a columnist for the British newspaper The Guardian, wrote, "Van Niceck is not the next Bolt, but we are lucky enough to have him." ”