Wayde van Niekerk sweating on
Pellies Park at the University of the Free State
Bloemfontein Campus.
Photo: Charl Devenish
|
The Kovsie athlete Wayde van Niekerk’s dream year is not over yet.
The University of the Free State’s golden boy was nominated in two categories of the SA Sports Awards in Johannesburg on 3 November 2015 . The winners of the tenth SA Sports Awards will be crowned in Van Niekerk’s home town, Bloemfontein, on 22 November 2015.
For the awards, sports stars are being judged on their achievements between 1 September 2014 and 30 September 2015.
The 23-year-old Van Niekerk was nominated as Sportsman of the Year and in the People’s Choice category.
One of three with two nominations
Van Niekerk is one of three sports stars nominated for two awards. The other two are the swimmer, Chad le Clos (Sportsman of the Year and People’s Choice), and the cyclist, Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio (Sportswoman of the Year and People’s Choice).
In the category Sportsman of the Year, Van Niekerk was nominated with Le Clos, and the mountain biker, Greg Minnaar.
He will compete against the Protea cricket player AB de Villiers, Moolman-Pasio, Le Clos, and the wheelchair tennis player, Lucas Sithole, for the People’s Choice Award.
After enjoying a dream year, Van Niekerk was named on 21 October 2015 as KovsieSport’s Sportsman of the Year for a third consecutive year.
In August, he won the 400 m at the World Championships in Beijing in a time of 43.48 s. His winning time was the sixth fastest in history, with only three athletes achieving better times.
NBC Olympics, a division of the American broadcasting network NBC, recently filmed a special insert on him at the UFS Bloemfontein Campus. The insert will be screened in the build-up to, and during, the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Vote for Wayde
Supporters have until 21:00 on 22 November 2015 to vote for their favourite sports stars, by sending an SMS at the cost of R1,50 to 45210.
To vote for Van Niekerk in the category People’s Choice, send an SMS with the letter E to 45210.