South Africa’s Wayde van Niekerk is excited the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), the world governing body for athletics‚ has altered their World Championships schedule to allow him the chance to seek gold in both the 200m and 400m in London.

Van Niekerk, along with his teammate Akani Simbine and their coach Anna Botha, arrived in the island yesterday to pay homage to Usain Bolt at the JN Racers Grand Prix on Saturday.In January, Van Niekerk, the 400m world record holder, appealed to the IAAF to adjust the schedule and he told the

Jamaica Observer, it has been approved.Van Niekerk, who won the specially arranged 300m at last year’s Racers Grand Prix before breaking the 400m world record at the Rio Olympics, will this year contest the 200m, as he prepares for the gruelling 200m/400m double at the World Championships in August.“It has been confirmed and I am excited because I wanted to compete in the 200m internationally. It’s one of my biggest dreams, in fact, my first dream I had as an athlete and now I am finally getting that opportunity,” said Van Niekerk.“I actually been wanting to run 200m for quite a while and actually it’s my first love in track and field and due to a lot of injuries at the beginning of my professional career, I haven’t had the opportunity to compete in the 200m too much.“Now I am eventually feeling quite healthy, feeling strong and ready for it and now I am going to try and split the two,” he noted.Initially, the 400m final was scheduled to start just hours after the 200m heats on August 8.But the IAAF, like they did on a few occasions when requested, listened and obliged which means Van Niekerk will run the 400m heats on Saturday morning (August 5) and the semi-finals on Sunday evening (August 6).Instead of a rest day‚ he will do the 200m heats on August 7 and then have a little more than 24 hours to recover for the 400m final.The 200m semi-finals will be on August 9 with the final slated for Thursday‚ August 10.Van Niekerk, who clocked 43.03 seconds in erasing Michael Johnson’s 17-year-old 400m world record, is the only man in history to go under 44 seconds for the 400m, 20 seconds for the 200m and 10 seconds for the 100m. His 100m and 200m personal bests are 9.98 and 19.94, respectively.On Sunday, he ran 19.84 seconds in a straight 200m event in Boston. He is excited to be racing in Jamaica for the second time, and this occasion is made special as he honours sprint legend Usain Bolt in his last race on Jamaican soil.“It’s a massive privilege to be here and pay respect for what he (Bolt) has done for track and field and we are looking forward to see his final year and support him all the way for what he has done for us as athletes and the way he has inspired us. He has been massive,” said Van Niekerk.The South African star, who has logged an impressive 19.90 seconds on April 22, is the second fastest over the 200m this year along with American Noah Lyles and behind Christian Coleman’s 19.85.“It is still quite early in the year. We still have a lot of work to do, quite a lot of areas that I still need to focus on. But I am feeling quite positive (and) it’s really just taking every race as it comes and I am glad,” said Van Niekerk.