Wayde van Niekerk says he was nervous before breaking Michael Johnson’s 300m world best

Wayde van Niekerk says he was nervous before breaking Michael Johnson’s 300m world best in Ostrava‚ despite having run personal best times in the 200m and 100m in the weeks before.

The Olympic 400m champion slashed four-hundredths of a second off the American legend’s 30.85sec mark as he cantered to victory by nearly a second.

His 30.81 obliterated Usain Bolt's 30.97 meet record.

“It was a nervy buildup obviously because I’ve been avoiding the 300s and 400s so I’m glad I finally got to break through that‚” said Van Niekerk‚ who races his first international 400m in Switzerland on Thursday next week.

“It’s a good step towards the 400m in Lausanne and I’m feeling quite positive and confident and let’s see how it goes.

“I think we’ve got to keep on working and keep on improving‚” added Van Niekerk‚ who is based in Gemona‚ Italy‚ during the European summer.

- TimesLIVE