Wayde van Niekerk has done it again, after storming to gold in the 400 metres at the IAAF Championship in London on Tuesday.
The whole world is waking up to this amazing athletics talent. Here are 5 reasons why Van Niekerk will go down as one of South Africa's greatest sports stars.
1. He just keeps on winning
It seems Athletics South Africa has found the winning formula to transform national athletics, boasting talents such as Caster Semenya and Van Niekerk. South Africans are starting to become accustomed to Van Niekerk winning gold in every race he competes in. He flies the flag high and continues to epitomise the reward of training hard.
He defended his IAAF title, cruising to victory in 43.98 seconds and proving to critics that he is a deserved champion. With Usain Bolt now out of the picture after his retirement, this is the perfect opportunity for Van Niekerk to begin his new reign as the world's next global athletics star.
2. South Africans love him
With his meteoric rise following the Rio 2016 Olympics, Van Niekerk has become one of the most loved local athletes. Van Niekerk is lovingly referred to as a national treasure because of his global status and what he is yet to achieve. South Africans are in full support of the athlete as he continues to dominate his craft, just like Bolt did when he won gold in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
The more he wins, the more South Africans love him. Perhaps the events in Rio have triggered the butterfly-effect for Van Niekerk in terms of how he is rapidly growing from strength-to-strength and how he is fulfilling his potential.
3. The brands love him, too
A key weapon in a sports stars arsenal is endorsement deals. Fortunately for the athlete, that is one area he does not have to worry about. Wayde van Niekerk has deals with Adidas, Visa, Richard Mille, Audi, T-Systems and appliance manufacturer Defy.
4. He's an all-round Olympian
Van Niekerk seems to be defying the odds by conquering everything in his way, fulfilling his potential as South Africa's first world star track runner, and possibly eclipsing Usain Bolt. In June, he made history when he was the only man to achieve the following four records:
He made history and showed the world why he is South Africa's undisputed track superstar by holding records across four different divisions (100m, 200m, 300m and 400m). Wayde looks well on his way to smashing even more records.
5. He's on the road to world domination but he's humble
As humble as he is, Wayde Van Niekerk has got his eye on the prize -- world domination in athletics. He certainly believes in himself, his potential and ultimately he wants to become a bigger star than Usain Bolt. With an Olympic gold medal, records broken and South Africa's sportsman of the year and sports star of the year in 2016.