Wayde has been a fighter from birth

New national 400m record-holder Wayde van Niekerk possessed dogged determination from the moment he entered this world.

Born prematurely at 29 weeks, he weighed just 1.9kg and doctors said the newborn would not survive.

"He was tiny and skinny," recalls his mom, Odessa Swarts. "I was told he was not going to make it. He was so sick, so tired he was! Only skin and bone. I didn't think he was going to make it."

After 24 hours it was clear that Baby Wayde had a different plan.

"Wayde has always been a fighter," explains Swarts. "He will fight for something until he gets it."

The BA marketing student from the University of the Free State broke the 15-year-old South African 400m record when he clocked 44.38sec in New York last weekend, ending second behind world champion LaShawn Merritt.

Van Niekerk's time placed him fourth on the world list so far this year and, perhaps more impressively, it ranked him tied 42nd on the world all-time list.

That's a heck of a feat considering that 42nd on the 100m and 200m all-time lists is considerably faster than the respective South African records.

Sprinters reach their peak in their late twenties, sometimes older - Michael Johnson was 31 in 1999 when he set the existing 43.18sec world record - and that means Van Niekerk, who turns 22 next month, has time on his side.

"He is exceptional," says Arnaud Malherbe, who was the joint holder of the previous SA 400m mark of 44.59. "He's way more talented than I ever was."

Malherbe noticed Van Niekerk's abilities at the SA senior championships in Stellenbosch last year. "I went to his coach and said: 'This is the guy who is going to break my record.' I just didn't expect him to do it so soon."

Van Niekerk, who started out in the 100m and 200m, moved to the one-lap race only in 2011 after suffering persistent injuries that hampered his training.

"I struggled doing speed work, so my team and I decided back then to do 400m to improve my endurance and strength; then, by surprise, I started doing well in it."

He has also qualified in the 200m for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, from July 23 to August 3.

"The 200m is my favourite," admits Van Niekerk, who also did high jump at school.

He inherited his talents from his parents. His mum was a sprinter and dad Wayne a high-jumper. Step-dad Steven, a road-runner, has also been a big influence.

Wayde says he has always loved running. "We enjoyed [running around] as cousins and playing around in the streets when I grew up, as well as many other sports," says Van Niekerk, originally from Kraaifontein in Cape Town.

He was good enough at rugby to get to the Western Province junior school trials and made the provincial athletics team as an 11-year-old. He finished second in the 80m at the national champs.

He was 13 when his family relocated to Bloemfontein and, by the time he got to Grey College, athletics was his main focus.

Van Niekerk uses the Twitter handle @WaydeDreamer, but the sprinter prefers not to make big predictions.

He's always been a quiet type, preferring to stay at home than to jol, says mom Odessa. "He's seeing a young lady at the moment, and it's the first time I've seen him go to the malls, or out for ice-creams."

But make no mistake, Van Niekerk has Olympic-sized dreams. Odessa says the family is planning their trip to Rio de Janeiro to support him at the 2016 Games.