Wayde van Niekerk books first 400m final in 5 years at World Champs

South African Olympic medallist Wayde van Niekerk has qualified for his first final since 2017 after easing into the 400m final at the World Athletics Championship in Eugene, Oregon on Thursday.

Van Niekerk, who broke a 17-year 400m world record to clinch gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics, has been plagued by niggles since the horrific knee injury he picked up in 2017.

On Thursday in Oregon, Van Niekerk stormed into the 400m final after finishing second in the third semi-final heat with a time of 44.75 seconds. 

American Champion Alison nudged ahead of the South African to win the heat in 44.71 seconds at Hayward Field.

It's Van Niekerk's first final since the 2017 World Championships as he looks to put Team South Africa on the podium in Oregon.

At last year's Tokyo Olympics, Van Niekerk failed to defend his title and crashed out of the semi-finals in Japan.