Wayde to share Olympic ceremony with sister, but what about the relay?

Wayde van Niekerk is making a special stop at the Olympic Village in Paris so he can take part in the opening ceremony with his hockey player sister Kayla Swarts on Friday night.

The two will be on the boat for the unique procession which will go down the Seine in a break from the traditional stadium affair. 

“I’m really excited for the moment he gets here and we get our picture at the rings,” Swarts said on Thursday. “I think it’s so special I get to share this opportunity with my brother.

“I’m really looking forward to making so many memories with him. He always tells me to be present and take in every moment and not regret having fun ... he said that once he gets here he’ll be my wingman,” the 21-year-old said, adding that despite their 11-year age gap they were often confused as twins.

Opting to enjoy the unique family experience meant the 32-year-old star sprinter was unable to link up with the bulk of the athletics team at their training camp in Montpellier, about 600km to the south.

Swarts is a travelling reserve for the women’s hockey team, while Van Niekerk is entered for the 200m and is expected to also race in the 4x400m and 4x100m relays.

The only problem is that Van Niekerk isn’t around to train the handovers with the 4x100m team. “With Wayde not being here it’s a bit of schlep,” said relays coach Paul Gorries, adding the first session was planned for Thursday afternoon.

“If you’re considering him, he needs to be here,” he added, but insisted that Van Niekerk was not excluded either.

Team manager Jean Verster said Van Niekerk’s focus would be the 4x400m relay, where the team won silver at the World Relays in Bahamas earlier this year. Van Niekerk is a crucial member of both relay outfits. As the 43.03sec 400m world record-holder, his presence in the 4x400m relay is obvious.

But he has a critical role to play in the 4x100m relay as well, being able to run the bend on the third leg better than anyone else in the squad.

Akani Simbine — one of the two flag-bearers for the opening ceremony who is flying in and out of Paris before returning to Montpellier — owns the anchor leg while Shaun Maswanganyi is good at the start and Benjamin Richardson is solid on the back straight.

Richardson, a student at North-West University, wrote an online exam on Thursday morning, invigilated by his coach, Gorries, as well as through a video to an external feed.

The bulk of the track-and-field team — including Simbine, Maswanganyi, 800m hopeful Prudence Sekgodiso, 100m hurdler Marioné Fourie, discus-thrower Francois Prinsloo and distance star Adriaan Wildschutt — were already in the camp in the resort town.

Verster said it was the best way to shield athletes from the distractions and tensions of the village, where athletes faced added nerves waiting for their own events to start while star-gazing the heroes across a multitude of codes.

South Africa’s athletes will move into the village three days before they are scheduled to compete.

They will get to do their own opening ceremony with the Australian and New Zealand athletes who are camping at the same University of Montpellier facility.

They will have supper together before marching around the track together and then piling into the Australian team room to watch the actual ceremony in Paris on TV.

Van Niekerk will join the team in Montpellier after the ceremony.