"I think Doha would be a great starting point for me to get back and gain my confidence as an athlete and continue to dominate in every event I do."
Published: 03 Jan 2018 - 06:13 pm | Last Updated: 08 Nov 2021 - 01:13 am
This file photo taken on August 10, 2017 shows South Africa's Wayde Van Niekerk celebrating after winning second place in the final of the men's 200m athletics event at the 2017 IAAF World Championships at the London Stadium in London. AFP / Jewel Samad
Johannesburg: World athletics star Wayde van Niekerk has returned to South Africa after a successful one-month rehabilitation programme in Qatar for a knee ligament tear sustained last October.
"The services I received (in Qatar) were world class and I am feeling very positive about my recovery," Van Niekerk said in a statement released Wednesday.
The Olympic and world 400-metre champion was injured while playing in a touch rugby match in Cape Town, one of several curtain-raisers to a South Africa-New Zealand Test.
Van Niekerk underwent surgery in the United States soon after and the visit to Qatar was planned then as part of his rehabilitation schedule.
No definite track comeback date has been set by the 25-year-old, but he will miss the Commonwealth Games on the Australian Gold Coast during April.
Van Niekerk said the 2019 Athletics World Championships in Qatar would be a "great starting point" for him.
"I think Doha would be a great starting point for me to get back and gain my confidence as an athlete and continue to dominate in every event I do."
Van Niekerk is the only athlete to run the 100m in under 10 seconds, the 200m in less than 20 seconds and the 400m in under 44 seconds. He is also the world record holder in the 400m and the rarely-run 300m.
