South African athlete, Wayde van Niekerk, took the world by storm on Sunday by winning the 400m title at the ongoing Rio Olympics.
With a time of 43.03 seconds, the 24-year-old sensationally broke a 17-year record held by American, Michael Johnson.
“It was a massacre,” said Johnson, who won two Olympic 400m titles.
“Van Niekerk is so young, what else can he do? Can he go under 43 seconds? It is something I thought I could do, but never did.”
Usain Bolt who won his third successive 100m title moments after, interrupted his own victory celebration to seek out the South African.
“He’s very fast and keeps on going,” said Bolt, who claimed he had predicted Van Niekerk would break the world record. “I wasn’t really surprised he got it.”
But instead of relishing the moment, the Capetonian immediately took a swipe at Arsenal who were defeated 4-3 by Liverpool earlier.
Van Niekerk, a proud Liverpool fan, opted to abandon his achievement to troll Arsene Wenger’s team who fumbled at the Emirates.
“I was losing my mind because it was quite a tight match,” the runner said about the Premier League clash.
“My brother’s an Arsenal fan. Now I’ve got the world record and Liverpool beat Arsenal. I’ve got a lot to brag about.”
