---
title: "Van Niekerk wins on return to track in Europe"
description: "BELLINZONA, Switzerland, Sept 15 (Reuters) - South Africa’s Olympic 400 metres champion Wayde van Niekerk won on his long-awaited return when he competed in the Gala dei Castelli at the Municipal Stadium in Bellinzona on Tuesday."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "Newsdeck"
author: "Reuters"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/reuters/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2020-09-15-van-niekerk-wins-on-return-to-track-in-europe/"
published: "2020-09-15T21:23:31"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 123
---

# Van Niekerk wins on return to track in Europe

> BELLINZONA, Switzerland, Sept 15 (Reuters) - South Africa’s Olympic 400 metres champion Wayde van Niekerk won on his long-awaited return when he competed in the Gala dei Castelli at the Municipal Stadium in Bellinzona on Tuesday.

By Reuters · Published 15 September 2020, 23:23 SAST

## Content

Van Niekerk ran 45.58 seconds ahead of Jochem Dobber of the Netherlands and Poland's Karol Zalewski in a low-key return after recovering from a debilitating knee injury and then COVID-19.

The 28-year-old romped to Olympic gold four years ago in a world record time of 43.03 seconds but then tore knee ligaments at a charity touch rugby game in October 2017 and made a long return.

He ran a handful of races in South Africa after facing a number of setbacks in his bid to return to the track and a planned comeback outside his home country in Trieste, Italy last month was cancelled when he tested positive for the novel coronavirus. (Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Ken Ferris)