In the words of Ice Cube, “it was a good day.” South African Olympic sprinter Wayde van Niekerk won a Gold Medal in the men’s 400 meter sprint Sunday night in Rio. At 43.03 seconds Van Niekerk finished well ahead of Kirani James and LaShawn Merritt, two Olympic champions that were considered the favorites in this event.
The time also broke a world record that had stood for 17 years; more than a tenth of a second better than Michael Johnson’s time.
The accomplishment caught the attention of fellow South African and Daily Show host Trevor Noah.
Halala Van Niekerk!!!!
Unbelievable??????????
— Trevor Noah (@Trevornoah) August 15, 2016
Noah also referenced the accomplishment at the beginning of his show last night.
Now comes the cherry on top of this amazing day for Van Niekerk. Liverpool FC beat Arsenal 4-3, as he’s a Reds supporter, while his brother roots for Arsenal, so he now has family bragging rights too.
Via the Independent:
“I watched the Liverpool match before, I was losing my mind because it was a tight match. We got the win. My brother is an Arsenal fan. Now I’ve got the world record and Liverpool beat Arsenal. I’ve got a lot to brag about.”
And he got a shout out on The Daily Show as well. You can’t ask for a better all around single day in your life than that.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes regularly to the Chicago Tribune’s RedEye publication and Bold Global.
He also consistently appears on numerous radio and television talk shows all across the country. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram and Sound Cloud.