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Van Niekerk, also the 400m world record holder,
has been sidelined for almost 18 months after a serious knee
injury sustained in a charity touch rugby game in October 2017.
It has been a slow road to recovery for the South African, who
recently returned to the track for the first time to claim the
provincial Free State championships title in a time of 47.28,
some 4.25 slower than his best 400m mark.
"It would be nice to be in Doha later in the year but I can't
tell just yet if I will be there for sure. My main target is the
Olympic Games in (Tokyo) Japan next year and I will be working
as hard as I can to make sure I'm in good shape for that," Van
Niekerk said on Thursday.
"It is something that excites me, but I still have a lot of
physical work to do. Mentally I feel very strong, but I just
need to be patient and allow the physical side to catch up.
"I don't know when it (knee) will be 100 percent but my mind is
set on doing what I can do‚ doing whatever is expected of me and
seeing where that takes me."
The 26-year-old concedes he battled in the first 200m of his
return to competition, but felt more fluid in the second half of
the race.
"My first 200 was extremely rusty, I was just trying to find my
feet and my momentum again, but once I got that it gave me the
confidence that I can stay in it for an entire 400-metres.
"It has sparked more motivation and also identified some key
areas to be worked on. No athlete is ever pain free, I just have
one I caused myself. I must just take the knocks and carry on."
Van Niekerk also backed compatriot Caster Semenya in the 800m
double Olympic champion's appeal hearing to the Court of
Arbitration for Sport against IAAF regulations that seek to
reduce naturally-occurring testosterone in female athletes.
"Caster is super strong," he said. "I see it as something that
is her personal battle, I believe she will come out of it
stronger.
"This situation has been carrying on for a while now and the way
she is handling it... she is fighting for women to have their
rights and their stand-out day in sports, and I respect her for
it."
(Reporting By Nick Said; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
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