• South African sprint legend Wayde van Niekerk returns home to Bloemfontein, choosing his stepfather as coach to revive his career.

• Van Niekerk, who holds the 400m world record, wants to compete in three sprint events while balancing family life.

Athletics star Wayde van Niekerk has moved back to Bloemfontein and chosen his stepdad as his coach in a bid to get back to winning ways.

The former Olympic champion and world record holder in the 400m quietly came back to South Africa late last year after training in Florida with top American athletes, News24 reported.

A nagging needling knee injury almost put paid to his running career.

Instead of going back to his former coach “Tannie” Ans Botha, who helped him win Olympic gold and set a world record, Van Niekerk picked his stepfather Steven Swarts to guide him.

“My stepfather is actually the first coach I’ve ever had,” said Van Niekerk. “He taught me all the basics, the running style people know, the way I approach races... he’s played a massive role in that.”

The 32-year-old said family was a big reason for coming home. His wife Chesney is expecting their second child in April, and their first son Elijah Luca, born in December 2021, can now go to school in South Africa.

“It was important for me to get him into an environment that is home for us and we have the support structures and to have him around his uncles and grandparents,” he said.

Van Niekerk hasn’t won a major medal since 2017 when he hurt his knee badly in a touch rugby game. But he still wants to compete in the 100m, 200m and 400m races.

“My goals for the year are just to progress on whatever standards I’ve achieved these last few years,” he said. “I’d like to challenge that and improve on that and, hopefully, enter back into spaces of exposing myself to finals and challenging for medals and winning races.”

Van Niekerk holds the 400m world record of 43.03 seconds, set at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

He’s also the only sprinter in history to run the 100m under 10 seconds, the 200m under 20 seconds, and the 400m under 44 seconds.

Pictured above: Wayde van Niekerk.

Image source: @WaydeDreamer