Olympics

On a day interrupted by threats of lightning that saw play suspended multiple times, Xander Schauffele had the chance to close in on the lead, but instead finished two strokes behind him on 65.

And it gets tight behind him on the leaderboard in a three-way tie for third between Chile's Joaquin Niemann, Argentina's Emiliano Grillo and South Korea's Tom Kim after rounds of 66.

After solid opening rounds, world number one Scottie Scheffler, Tommy Fleetwood and Jon Rahm were among the nine tied for sixth on four-under.

Meanwhile, it was an up-and-down day for Rory McIlroy, who finished one stroke further back in joint-15th after he carded five birdies and an eagle as well as four bogeys to card a three-under 68.

His Ireland team-mate Shane Lowry finished on an even 72, sitting in tied-47th.

The three are all on 11 under after the first two rounds, with the Brit enjoying a brilliant day on the course as he jumped 11 places up the leaderboard.

He carded a seven-under 64 on Friday and only failed to take an outright lead after finding the sand and failing to get up and down.

Matsuyama similarly missed his chance, hitting the water on the final hole, but he did well to only make a double as he finished with a three-under 68.

Schauffele, who is playing to retain his gold medal, had set the pace by carding a 66, one more than yesterday.

Jon Rahm has also played his way into contention (nine under), while Belgium's Thomas Detry produced the best result of the day, with his round of eight-under 63 improving him to eight under and vaulting him up 36 places into joint fifth.

Meanwhile, world number one Scottie Scheffler is down in joint-10th (six under), with Rory McIlroy one stroke further down after carding a two-under 69.

His Ireland team-mate Shane Lowry finished on an even 71 for the second day running. 

The Welsh rider overcame the competition and heavy rain to cross the line first at the end of the 126km route from the city centre to a section of the Great Wall of China.

It was the first Olympic gold medal won by a British female cyclist, the country’s 200th Olympic gold across all sports and the first by a Welsh athlete since 1972.

Cooke, 25, had stated her intentions when she formed a breakaway with four other riders 6km from the finish.

She went on to beat Sweden’s Emma Johansson and Tatiana Guderza of Italy in a sprint for the finish. Her winning time was three hours 32 minutes 24 seconds.

“It’s just like a dream come true, and I hope everyone one can share in this dream,” said Cooke, who took up competitive cycling at the age of 11 and had finished fifth in Athens in 2004.

Cooke went on to win World Championship gold later in 2008, becoming the first racer to achieve the world and Olympic double in the same year.

She also won the Tour de France twice in her career and retired in 2013.

The 19-year-old from Mansfield became the first woman to top the podium since Anita Lonsbrough in 1960 with her exquisite performance in the pool.

Adlington snatched gold ahead of American Katie Hoff in a thrilling finger-tip finish in Beijing, winning by 0.07 seconds in a time of four minutes 3.22secs.

Team-mate Joanne Jackson took bronze, with the pair becoming the first British women to win an Olympic medal since Sarah Hardcastle in Los Angeles in 1984.

“We are both so happy to have two British girls on the podium,” Adlington said after the pair’s heroics. “I don’t think either of us expected it and especially a gold and a bronze, it’s absolutely amazing.

“I can’t actually believe it. It hasn’t sunk in yet. I’m just over the moon. I have just watched it back on TV and I said ‘I didn’t win that.’ Then they showed the underwater shot and my hand just got there.

“I can’t believe that I have won an Olympic medal and to have Jo there as well was absolutely fantastic. I was just so happy to be on the podium with my best friend, I love Jo to bits.

“She’s so close to me it was so great to be up there with her and to have all the team looking down on you, hearing them singing the national anthem, and not in tune at all!”

Adlington would end up leaving China with another gold medal, smashing the oldest world record in swimming in the process.

The teenager completed the distance double in Beijing’s Water Cube with an inspired swim in the 800m freestyle to leave the opposition trailing behind her by more than six seconds.

Adlington claimed the gold by breaking Janet Evans’ long-standing world record for the event – a mark of eight minutes 16.22 seconds set at the Pan Pacific Championships in Tokyo in 1989 and widely regarded as among the greatest records ever set in swimming.

Adlington, though, demolished it, touching in 8:14.10, 2.12 seconds faster than Evans’ time and well clear of second-placed Alessia Filippa of Italy and Denmark’s bronze medallist Lotte Friss.

Tweddle, regarded as one of Britain’s most successful gymnasts, revealed her decision nine years after making her Olympic debut as a 19-year-old in 2004 in Athens.

Her Olympic bronze came in the uneven bars at London 2012, while she won three world gold medals, six European titles and was British champion on seven occasions.

Speculation over Tweddle’s retirement came when she dismissed the possibility of competing at the 2016 Olympics in Rio and she finally announced her decision one year before the 2014 Commonwealth Games which took place in Glasgow.

The then 28-year-old followed several Olympians who called time on their sporting careers following the London Games, including cyclists Sir Chris Hoy and Victoria Pendleton and swimmer Rebecca Adlington.

Tweddle said: “Following the Olympics I’ve had a lot of projects on and recently I’ve had a bit more time to get back into the gym and decide whether I could put 100 per cent into it.

“I know now deep down that I can’t commit to the hours and training to remain at the very top.

“I don’t think my achievements will ever really sink in but, when I do look back, I can be very proud of what I’ve done and how I’ve done it.”

Farah continued his unprecedented spell of long-distance domination by landing his eighth straight global gold, but he did it the hard way after falling to the track following a trip from training partner Galen Rupp.

He recovered to respond to the challenge laid down by Kenya’s Paul Tanui, bursting past him down the home straight and crossing the line in 27 minutes and 5.17 seconds.

Victory saw Farah eclipse the Olympic achievements of the likes of double champions Sebastian Coe, Daley Thompson and Kelly Holmes.

With 300 metres to go Tanui pressed the accelerator in a bid to neutralise Farah’s renowned finishing speed, but the British star was not done and powered past the Kenyan before holding on to win by 0.47secs.

Farah broke down in tears as he was interviewed by broadcasters after the race.

“When I fell down for one moment I was thinking, ‘oh my race is over, my dream is over’. But then I managed to dig deep,” he said.

“Galen is a good sportsman and things happen sometimes and it’s so easy to blame people, but I’ve got such a long stride I don’t blame him for anything.

“I’m a guy who wins medals rather than runs fast times, so for me what keeps me going is winning medals for my country and making my nation proud.”

Four-time grand slam champion Osaka, now ranked at world number 95, lost in straight sets to Germany's Angelique Kerber on Court Philippe-Chatrier in Paris.

Former world number one Osaka returned to tennis earlier this year after giving birth in July 2023.

Now she hopes she can climb back up the rankings by watching others on the tour, and world number one Swiatek has been high on her list.

"I was stalking Iga. I was watching her practice at the Olympics, and for me, that's something I want to do more, watch the great players, because there's always something I can pick up on," Osaka told reporters ahead of the Canadian Open.

"I know she has one of the best footwork skills on the WTA. I'm just trying to copy a little bit." 

The Japanese player found her Olympics experience more enjoyable than three years ago at her home Games, where she lit the Olympic flame.

"I would say in Tokyo [2020], I was definitely really stressed. In Paris, I felt a lot more fun. And obviously there were spectators there, so it was a lot different," reflected the 26-year-old.

"In Paris, I felt a lot more fun. And obviously there were spectators there, so it was a lot different. But I didn't stay in the village, so that is something that I regret a little bit, not to have the full experience. Overall, I think it was it was fun. Hopefully, I can play in LA [in 2028]."

Osaka has naturally faced challenges in her return to sport following pregnancy, which has made her presence at the Olympics a year on from giving birth impressive in itself.

"Honestly, after pregnancy, I wasn't really sure how my movement would be," said Osaka.

"I remember being on the track at UCLA [University of California, Los Angeles] and almost crying in frustration because I felt like I couldn't run as fast as I wanted to.

"It felt like I was in a body suit that was not performing the way I wanted. Now, to be here, is a really incredible achievement."

Having a daughter has also given Osaka a new outlook on her sport.

"I lost in the Olympics, I was, of course, really devastated," she explained. "But I was just surrounded by my team.

"Then I went back home, and I saw my daughter, and she's just happy to be alive. She's happy that I'm her mom and it just gave me a lot of motivation.

"I feel like when I was younger I was searching for my purpose in life. The way I grew up, my only purpose was tennis. Then obviously taking the year that I had as a break, it let me see that there are so many different things in life and it's a beautiful world."

Osaka has not played since withdrawing from the French Open after revealing she would skip press conferences at Roland Garros as "people have no regard for athletes' mental health".

The four-time grand slam champion from Japan revealed she had suffered "long bouts of depression" since winning the US Open in 2018.

Osaka says she has not changed her stance on press conferences and feels she had been unfairly scrutinised.

The world number two wrote in Time magazine: "I communicated that I wanted to skip press conferences at Roland Garros to exercise self-care and preservation of my mental health. I stand by that.

"Athletes are humans. Tennis is our privileged profession, and of course there are commitments off the court that coincide. But I can't imagine another profession where a consistent attendance record [I have missed one press conference in my seven years on tour] would be so harshly scrutinised.

"Perhaps we should give athletes the right to take a mental break from media scrutiny on a rare occasion without being subject to strict sanctions.

"In any other line of work, you would be forgiven for taking a personal day here and there, so long as it's not habitual. You wouldn't have to divulge your most personal symptoms to your employer; there would likely be HR measures protecting at least some level of privacy.

"In my case, I felt under a great amount of pressure to disclose my symptoms - frankly because the press and the tournament did not believe me. I do not wish that on anyone and hope that we can enact measures to protect athletes, especially the fragile ones.

"I also do not want to have to engage in a scrutiny of my personal medical history ever again. So I ask the press for some level of privacy and empathy next time we meet."

Osaka is feeling the benefits of a break and is relishing representing her country in the Olympics on home soil in Tokyo.

"After taking the past few weeks to recharge and spend time with my loved ones, I have had the time to reflect, but also to look forward," the 23-year-old said. 

"I could not be more excited to play in Tokyo. An Olympic Games itself is special, but to have the opportunity to play in front of the Japanese fans is a dream come true. I hope I can make them proud."

In her final tournament, the German kept her hopes of going out on a high alive, getting a 7-5 6-3 victory in just 69 minutes at the end of a rainy opening day at Roland Garros.

Osaka started strongly, racing into a 3-1 lead, but Kerber fought back and eventually got the vital break in the penultimate game of the set to edge in front.

The two were evenly matched again at the start of the second, but Osaka struggled to maintain her high level and lost her serve twice at the end as Kerber's four-game winning run carried her over the line.

Kerber will now face Jaqueline Cristian of Romania in the second round.

Data Debrief: Going for gold

Kerber won a silver medal in singles at Rio 2016, and she is looking to sign off her glittering career by going one better in Paris.

She asserted her dominance in the second set, particularly, winning 13 of 14 points when she got her first delivery into play.

Kerber also bows out holding a 5-2 head-to-head record over Osaka, who once again struggled on clay.

Postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Games are scheduled to begin on July 23 this year.

This year's Australian Open will begin on February 8 after players quarantined ahead of the first grand slam of the year.

Osaka said she would be prepared to do it all again if it meant she got the chance to play at the Olympics.

"Honestly, my concern isn't the athletes. The way that I feel is I will stay in my room for two weeks to play the Olympics. I missed out on the last one," the Japanese star told a news conference on Sunday.

"Playing in Tokyo would be very special to me. My concern would be the general safety of everyone else because you're opening the country.  Everyone is flying in from different places. I would just want the public to feel safe.

"I feel like the athletes definitely would want to play, but I would want the public to feel safe."

Doubts have also been cast over the Olympics going ahead this year due to COVID-19.

Osaka, a three-time major champion, said while people she had spoken to were excited, some were worried.

"For me the people that I've spoken to, they're really excited about it, but they're concerned because, I don't know, there's just like so many different people entering. I don't know," she said.

"For the people I've talked to, they said as long as everyone is safe, as long as Japan is getting better and not worse, then it should be okay.

"But for me, hmm, don't quote me on that."

Ahead of the Australian Open, Osaka is playing the Gippsland Trophy, where she will face either Alize Cornet or Ajla Tomljanovic in the second round.

The event was held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Thompson-Herah had a phenomenal 2021 season, which included her winning the 100m at the Diamond League final in Zurich and running 10.54 at the Eugene Diamond League to become the fastest woman alive and second fastest woman of all time.

Her greatest achievement in 2021, however, would have to be when she became the first woman in history to win the sprint double at consecutive Olympic Games.

Backing up her exploits from Rio in 2016, Thompson-Herah produced times of 10.61 and 21.53 to win gold medals in both the 100m and 200m at the Tokyo Olympics, in addition to being a part of Jamaica’s 4x100m relay team, alongside Briana Williams, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, who finished as runner-up for the Sportswoman of the Year award, and Shericka Jackson, that won the gold medal in a national record 41.02.

Parchment shocked the world to win gold in the Men’s 110m Hurdles in Tokyo, nine years after his bronze medal performance at the London Olympics.

He ran 13.04 to win gold in Tokyo ahead of prohibitive favourite Grant Holloway of the USA.

The past student of Morant Bay High and Kingston College was also third at the Diamond League final in Zurich.

His teammate Ronald Levy, who was the runner-up for the Sportsman of the Year Award, took home the bronze medal in Tokyo.

Other major awards given out on the day include the Chairman's Award to veteran journalist Lance Whittaker; the People's Choice "Performance of the Year Award" to Fraser McConnell; the VM Group Y.O.U.T.H Award to sprinter Tina Clayton and the Gleaner Newspaper Iconic Award to Michael Holding.

It is the first time in 100 years that the Games have been held in the French capital, and despite the constant showers, thousands of Olympians from the 205 delegations celebrated as they travelled down the River Seine on boats and barges.

During the nearly four-hour sprawling ceremony, spectators were treated to performances by Lady Gaga, Aya Nakamura and Celine Dion as the city showed off the story of France while commemorating Olympic history.

On a tour of the city, Paris' most well-known landmarks, including the Louvre and Notre Dame Cathedral, were on show as fans packed in around the parade route to get a glimpse of the showcase.

The Olympic flag was delivered to the Eiffel Tower on the back of a mechanical horse travelling down the river, while a masked individual carried the torch across the city.

An incredible light show on the Tower then restarted the torch relay, as Zinedine Zidane reappeared to hand it to two-time gold medallist Rafael Nadal.

The Spaniard, with the help of fellow tennis icon Serena Williams, American sprinter Carl Lewis and Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci carried the torch back down the river on its way to the cauldron.

Some of France's best Olympians helped carry it the rest of the way before judoka Teddy Riner and sprinter Marie-Jose Perec lit the flame in the hot air balloon cauldron, which rose high above the Parisian sky, to officially mark the start of the Games.

More than 10,500 athletes will compete across 32 sports at the Games, which will close on August 11.

It was acknowledged that the possibility of heavy rain in the French capital could raise levels of E Coli in the water, despite over a billion euros having been invested in making the river safe to swim in for the first time in a hundred years.

On Tuesday, the Surfrider Foundation Europe charity issued a warning that samples taken have shown dangerous levels of bacteria in the water, just over a hundred days before the games are due to start.

And Estanguet has acknowledged there could be a knock-on effect to the possible use of the river.

“When we decided to have this competition in the Seine we knew it will be a big challenge,” he said speaking at Sport Accord in Birmingham, as reported by Guardian.

“But with the authorities, there is a big programme of investment and, when we talk about legacy, this project is fantastic.

“And we are still confident that the triathlon will be based in the Seine because we have contingency plans. We can postpone for rainy conditions. Because it’s programmed at the beginning of the Games we can wait for better conditions. So we are confident that it will be possible to use the Seine.

“We change the date and postpone from one day to three days until it’s OK. And there is a final decision where we could not swim – it’s part of the rules of the International Federation. It’s what we want to avoid, of course.”

Ko won the silver medal at Rio 2016 before picking up bronze in Tokyo three years ago, but her victory in Paris also pushed her career total to 27 points required for a place in the LPGA Hall of Fame.

She was the joint leader going into the final day and built a five-shot lead on the back nine to put herself out of reach as her competitors dropped away, though she set up a nervy finish as she carded a one-under 71.

Germany's Esther Henseleit almost caught her as she hit a six-under 66 to shoot up the leaderboard to finish on eight under, coming out of nowhere to clinch the silver medal.

Xiyu Lin was almost forced into a play-off for bronze, but she birdied the final hole for a 69 to finish on seven under, one stroke ahead of fourth place.

Switzerland's Morgane Metraux had been Ko's co-leader at the start of the day, but it was a day to forget as her game collapsed, and she finished the event in 18th.  

Nelly Korda and Rose Zhang also struggled to maintain their momentum on Saturday, as Ko surged out of their sights on the leaderboard.

The three are all on 11 under after the first two rounds, with the Brit enjoying a brilliant day on the course as he jumped 11 places up the leaderboard.

He carded a seven-under 64 on Friday and only failed to take an outright lead after finding the sand and failing to get up and down.

Matsuyama similarly missed his chance, hitting the water on the final hole, but he did well to only make a double as he finished with a three-under 68.

Schauffele, who is playing to retain his gold medal, had set the pace by carding a 66, one more than yesterday.

Jon Rahm has also played his way into contention (nine under), while Belgium's Thomas Detry produced the best result of the day, with his round of eight-under 63 improving him to eight under and vaulting him up 36 places into joint fifth.

Meanwhile, world number one Scottie Scheffler is down in joint-10th (six under), with Rory McIlroy one stroke further down after carding a two-under 69.

His Ireland team-mate Shane Lowry finished on an even 71 for the second day running. 

Paulino, who won silver in Tokyo three years ago, crossed the finish line in 48.17 seconds, eclipsing Marie-Jose Perec's previous record of 48.25 that had stood since 1996.

It was the latest confirmation of the Dominican's recent dominance in the event following her victory at last year's World Championships in Budapest. 

Salwa Eid Naser of Bahrain finished in second, while Poland's Natalia Kaczmarek claimed bronze.

Great Britain's Amber Anning finished in fifth, breaking Christine Ohuruogu's British record, which has stood for 11 years, with a time of 49.29 seconds.

"I’m absolutely blessed. I am a little bit disappointed. I wanted to come away with three things," Anning said.

"It was either a medal, a PB or a national record and I got one of them. I'm just grateful to be in this position with these amazing girls.

"It was tough [the race], I think I let myself have too much work coming into home straight but I just used my strength.

"It’s been an amazing experience. "It’s still not done yet. I've got the relay tomorrow."

Adam Peaty insists he arrives in Paris ready to "attack" a third-straight Olympic triumph in the 100m breaststroke

Peaty, who is a 16-time European Champion, won his first gold medal for Team GB in 2016, the first by a British male in 24 years, and has held the title ever since. 

He became the first British swimmer ever to retain an Olympic title in Tokyo, and is eyeing a hat-trick of titles. 

The 29-year-old also holds the world records in both the 50m and 100m breaststroke, yet getting to the Paris Olympics was far from straightforward. 

From 2014 to 2022, Peaty was unstoppable, breaking the 100m record on five occasions while also claiming several world, European and Commonwealth titles. 

But with the world at his feet, things came crashing down. In fact, was it not for this Olympics, he may never have returned to the pool.

“If it wasn’t for the Olympics I don’t think I’d be still swimming,” Peaty told Eurosport. “I’m going to attack for this title, not defend.

“I think I’ve cracked the code of balance, but also being able to train really hard for very long periods of time, knowing when I burn out or I’m pushing too hard, and listening to my team at the same time.

“So I think this is my favourite time to train but I also had to take three or four months off from the sport completely because I burned out.

“It cost me that kind of training period, but without that I would have just done the same old stuff and probably wouldn’t have even made it to the Olympics or the Olympic qualifiers, because I’d have completely burned out from the sport.

“People see the end result, they’ll see you race or compete at the end of the day, but they won’t see the years and years and years of hard mornings, hard evenings, thousands of metres, gym sessions in the freezing cold.

“People don’t see that stuff, they only see the 1%, if that. It’s 0.1%.”

But in Peaty's absence, a new force has taken the pool by storm, with China’s Qin Haiyang establishing himself as the dominant force.

Haiyang won the 50m, 100m and 200m breaststroke at the 2023 World Championships, becoming the second-fastest man in 100m history behind Peaty.

Peaty returned to claim bronze at the World Championships this year and then won the British trials in April in a time of 57.94s.

“I’ve been given a gift that I put myself in extreme pain for a very long time and quite enjoy it,” he continued. “Not many people can do that.

“I enjoy the hard work because it keeps me busy. It has to be hard all the time.

“That’s the most powerful thing. You don’t do it for the Olympic glory, you don’t do it for the medals, you do it to recognise the gift that you’ve been given.

“If I know I’ve worked the hardest and I get to the start line at the Olympics and I couldn’t have done anything more that gives me peace, because win or lose you’ll be happy because you’ve enjoyed the journey.”

The 20-year-old Welshwoman shocked herself when she took the women’s individual sprint title in Glasgow in August, beating Germany’s favoured Lea Friedrich in the final.

Finucane donned the rainbow jersey for the first time in competition at the UCI Track Champions League opening round in Mallorca this weekend, but while the distinctive striped jersey means she can no longer keep herself inconspicuous, she does not want it to change her approach.

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“People will look at me now,” Finucane told the PA news agency. “Last year I was kind of the underdog and I just came through so now I am wearing the stripes. I hope that doesn’t really change anything.

“I’m just trying to ignore it and just race my bike, but there is some external pressure. I’m not just Emma at the back of the field anymore.”

The rainbow jersey can do different things for different riders. While many take it as a confidence boost, for others the stripes have worn heavily. Finucane said she had spoken to several Great Britain team-mates about how to deal with it.

“I don’t want to look at it (as giving me a psychological edge) because if I lose, then what?” she said. “And I will get beaten, and that’s fine. I just need to take it as it comes.

“Half of it is the mental battle of putting it on and people looking at you and having that pressure, but I’m trying to embrace it and enjoy it because you don’t know if it will happen again.

“Beth Shriever is a really good friend of mine and she’s been the BMX world and Olympic champion. She said she didn’t have the best year in the rainbow jersey because she put too much pressure on herself and she overthought it.

“I’ve spoken to Evie (Richards, 2021 mountain bike world champion) and Katie Archibald (a five-time world champion on the track) and I’m lucky we have so many inspiring women in the Great Britain team. It’s great I can learn from them but ultimately I will only learn from myself and how I deal with it.”

And Finucane believes the Champions League – the made-for-TV track cycling series which is in its third season – is the ideal place to do much of that learning, providing some top-level competition without the stresses and pressures that come elsewhere.

“The next event I’ll do in the rainbows is the Euros (in January) which is when everything is serious,” she said. “I’m not saying this isn’t serious, but it’s a nice place to be free to fail. You can try new things.”

Saturday’s racing in Palma saw Finucane finish second in the sprint, beaten by Germany’s Alessa-Catriona Propster, before failing to make the keirin final through some tired legs. But it was just the sort of experience she was looking for when it came to dealing with her new status.

Finucane will wear the stripes into an Olympic year but despite her status is taking nothing, not even squad selection, for granted.

“Nothing is guaranteed,” she said. “I’d love to go and I’m really pushing myself but I need to take each race as it comes. If I just think about Paris and everything else goes wrong I’ll not be going.

“But it’s in the back of my mind because since I was 10 years old I’ve wanted to ride the Olympics.

“As the GB sprint team we’ll not just be going there to ride but we’re looking for medals and I fully believe we have the potential to win. It’s super exciting but also super scary.”

The three-time Tour de France champion had been scheduled to take part in the men's road race at the Games on August 3, but it was announced on Monday he would not take part.

While Slovenia's Olympic cycling coach Uros Murn attributed Pogacar's absence to "extreme fatigue" after claiming his latest Tour title last week, the UAE Team Emirates superstar was back in action the following day at a criterium race in Surhuisterveen.

Questioned about his Paris decision by Dutch broadcaster NOS, Pogacar revealed his frustration at Zigart missing out on a place in the Slovenian squad.

"It's not the main reason, but it certainly didn't help," he said. "I think she deserves her place. She's a two-time national champion in the road race and time trial."

Urska Pintar and Eugenia Bujak were preferred to Zigart for the women's road race. Zigart won the national title in that event ahead of Pintar last month.

"We're all good," Wayde van Niekerk tells Stats Perform. "Most importantly, everyone is very healthy. Everyone is starting to invest now in exercises and more healthy decisions so that's actually nice to see and something that's a positive out of our current circumstances."

Looking for positives in the coronavirus pandemic can be tough. Then again, Van Niekerk has never been one to shirk a challenge. The 400 metre Olympic champion, the first man in history to run a single lap of the track faster than Michael Johnson, the figure tipped by Usain Bolt himself to usurp the Jamaican great as the poster-boy of athletics, has endured a sort of self-isolation from the wider public consciousness over the past couple of years.

Van Niekerk's victory at the 2016 Rio Olympics was done in a world-record time of 43.03, beating Johnson's 17-year best and coming agonisingly close to the magic 43-second barrier. A year later, in the seldom-run 300m, he eclipsed Johnson and Bolt's best times to set a record 30.81 in Ostrava, eight days after a personal best of 9.94 in the 100m.

In so doing, Van Niekerk became the first sprinter in history to break the 10-second, 20-second, 31-second and 44-second barriers for the 100m, 200m, 300m and 400m, respectively. At the World Championships in London in August 2017, he took silver in the 200m and gold in the 400m, defending that title from Beijing two years earlier. Not bad for a man given 24 hours to live when he was born 11 weeks prematurely, who spent his first two weeks of life in intensive care, and who was bullied as a scrawny schoolboy.

Then, in a charity touch rugby match in October 2017, Van Niekerk suffered medial and lateral tears of the meniscus and a torn anterior cruciate ligament. He needed surgery. The 2018 season was written off, meaning he missed the Commonwealth Games. After a winning return in Bloemfontein some 17 months later, Van Niekerk "pushed a bit too hard" and bruised a bone in his knee in training. More months off the track followed; there would be no third world title in a row.

"Missing out on the Commonwealths, I could get over it, but a world champs was very difficult," he admits.

"I got some time to train with the guys in Europe and I was basically prepping for the World Championships, so picking up the bone bruise and then still trying to work towards getting fitness but not quite getting there and seeing off the team and greeting everyone was quite an emotional experience. But it definitely did spark a massive hunger inside me and I think, for myself, I use that as motivation to make sure that when I get a chance again, I'm not going to take it for granted."

That chance was supposed to be 2020, and Tokyo. "I've entered this year as a normal season, so I felt I was ready to compete, I felt I was ready to run. I was training and working as any other year. I made decisions as if I'm about to do a season as usual, so mentally and physically my mind and heart was there."

Then came COVID-19. As sporting events around the world were pushed back or cancelled, the IOC dithered over moving the Olympics, leaving athletes to continue preparations under clouds of uncertainty. It was particularly worrying for Van Niekerk: as social distancing became the norm in countries across the globe, he was obliged to keep up his training programme despite his coach, 77-year-old Ans Botha, being at risk of serious illness if infected.

"It was definitely scary," he says. "It was kind of difficult to communicate with her each and every day and she was right there in front of me. I did not know how to communicate with coach and how to interact with coach knowing how easily she could get affected.

"At that moment, we saw how quickly it was spreading in China and Italy and countries in Europe and we knew it wouldn't be long before it entered our country. That kind of scared me: it's an invisible virus which travels, so I wouldn't even know I'm interacting with coach and spreading the virus to her, so I'm glad she's safe now and can stay away from harm so that, when we get back to work, she'll be ready and healthy."

On March 24, organisers acted at last, postponing the Games until July 23 next year. For many athletes, it was a disheartening blow; for Van Nierkerk, it was "definitely a relief".

"My coach being quite elderly makes it quite difficult for me to focus only on training, knowing that I'm around her all the time and how easily the virus can spread and how quickly it attacks the elderly. It definitely did take a bit of a weight off my shoulders in terms of that," he says.

"Also, we weren't mentally training the way we would love to. I guess the fact the Olympics has been shifted takes a bit of stress off us, and now we can work on keeping our social distancing and staying away from spreading the virus and making sure we kill this thing so we can go back to life as we know it.

"I don't have any issues with the decisions that were made. Working towards next season and what's left of this season, I want to make sure I'm in good shape and use it as building blocks for the Olympics next year. I see it as a healthy year for myself, where I can use it for building and strengthening that I still believe I need to work on."

South Africa won praise for a proactive approach to containing the spread of coronavirus, with swift lockdown measures helping to keep confirmed cases below 2,000 and deaths in single figures as of April 5. Van Niekerk has been training at home – "I'm very privileged and blessed," he says, to have a large back garden and gym to use – and he supports the government's approach. "I think we've also seen a positive reaction to it – a lot of people are obedient to it, a lot of people are distancing themselves from society and from spreading the virus, so I see it as positive decisions that our country's leaders have made."

After so much time out through injury, there is still frustration at having to wait another year for the Olympics, but Van Niekerk, clearly, is not one for negativity. Running at unofficial meets early this year over 100m and 200m, including back home in Bloemfontein, were "quite fun", he says. "Seeing that I still have the speed and still have the strength gave me quite a bit of a boost, and it just gave me a lot of hunger to keep working harder and more efficiently, so that I can be in the best shape for the Olympics. I'm basically just trying to continue off that so I can be in the best shape of my life in Tokyo."

The immediate goal might be Olympics gold, but Van Niekerk may have more than a medal collection in his sights. He has spoken of wanting to leave a legacy and, while going sub-43 over 400m is the obvious target, his love of the shorter races points at a possible bid for sprinting's triple crown. Bolt was king of the 100m and 200m; Johnson ruled from the half-lap to the 400m. To conquer all three would set Van Niekerk apart.

It's a remarkable dream, but Van Niekerk, inspired by Liverpool's Premier League title charge and watching friends and family win the Rugby World Cup last year, is a remarkable athlete.

His is a sport where dozens of people put in hundreds of hours of work often just so one person has one chance of glory, be it with a jump, a throw, or a dash to the line. But he remembers the challenges life threw at him; he remembers those who were with him from those tough beginnings and all the way to August 15, 2016, where one lap of the track in Rio changed his world. And he has never forgotten them. He looks back now not just on the time on the clock or the medal around his neck, but on the people who were there to share it all.

He recalled: "It was definitely... I was quite nervous. But I felt comfortable, I felt confident in myself. I had an amazing season before, put up some great times. But coming to a Games itself, you need to put in that hard work to make sure that you execute what you've worked for. During that process, it was just about staying calm, staying composed, controlling the controllables and executing the race as best I can.

"Breaking the world record itself was amazing. I had my family over there and it was amazing and a great way to end my competition, knowing they were there, spending time with them and celebrating with them. Also, the team: my coach, my management team, my sponsors and so on, it was a great experience knowing I could break the world record and honour everyone associated with me for their hard work and sacrifices they put in to put me where I am today. I'll forever be grateful for it.

"But my mind and my heart are honestly focused on the future and my legacy. It's never been a secret that I want to go sub-43 and it's also no secret how much I love the 100 and 200, so I definitely want to start investing in growth, in every single event that I do, and improve myself every year until the day I retire and whatever legacy comes from that. That's where my focus is at: just to grow and be up there with the greats in the world."