CAPE TOWN – Wayde van Niekerk has thrilled athletics fans around the world with his exploits around the track, but he was a spectator this time at the Italian Grand Prix.
Apart from watching Lewis Hamilton win the race in fine style on Sunday, Van Niekerk also met some of the biggest stars in the sports world over the weekend.
The reigning 400m Olympic champion was accompanied by his wife Chesney, and fellow SA athletes Akani Simbine and Ruswahl Samaai at the Monza circuit.
Van Niekerk posed with former Ferrari driver Felipe Massa on Saturday, and it was the turn of football on Sunday.
Brazilian idols Kaka and Dani Alves exchanged pleasantries with the 26-year-old South African, who posted on Instagram: “Crazy having the opportunities meeting personalities you idolized growing up,” to which Alves replied: “Love u bro!!”
Crazy having the opportunities meeting personalities you idolized growing up. 🙏🏽
A post shared by Wayde van Niekerk(@waydedreamer) on Sep 2, 2018 at 6:23am PDT
Late last week, Van Niekerk also announced that he was running again after his long-term knee injury, and had completed a session which was “pain-free” in Doha, Qatar.
Monza 🇮🇹 When dreams meets reality.
A post shared by Wayde van Niekerk(@waydedreamer) on Sep 2, 2018 at 4:44am PDT
F1 Monza 🇮🇹 with @AkaniSimbine& @RuswahlSamaai pic.twitter.com/Ar5PDnns47