Usain Bolt's stunned reaction to Wayde van Niekerk smashing Michael Johnson's 400m WR

With the Athletics World Championships currently taking place in Oregon, fans are revelling in watching the world’s best athletes compete at the highest level.

The Olympic Games is undoubtedly the pinnacle of athletics, but the World Championships are not too far behind. It is also the best dress rehearsal that athletes can get for the Olympics, which will be hosted in Paris in 2024.

One man who will be looking for a strong performance at the spectacle in Oregon is Wayde van Niekerk. The South African 400m runner is the current world record holder in the event, having broken Michael Johnson’s longstanding record at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.

Van Niekerk had the run of his life in that summer in Brazil. To break a record that had stood for 17 years is a remarkable achievement and one that left spectators in awe of what they had just seen.

It wasn’t just spectators that were left stunned, however.

Usain Bolt and James Blake were two athletes in particular who couldn’t believe what they had just witnessed, as evidenced by this footage.

In the video, Jamaican sprinters Bolt and Blake’s reactions are that of sheer amazement. It appears from the footage that the pair may have missed the race itself, but were reacting to the scoreboard which showed Van Niekerk had toppled Johnson’s record.

Van Niekerk flew out of the blocks and was imperious from start to finish. Just as it looked as though he may lose ground going into the home straight, the South African found another level and kicked on to open up the gap between himself and the chasing pair of Kirani James and LaShawn Merrit.

Prior to that fateful run in the 400m men’s Olympic final, Johnson’s record had never really been troubled. Van Niekerk didn’t just beat it, he