Which athlete set the men's 400 metres world record of 43.03 seconds at the 2016 Olympic Games?

Wayde van Niekerk set the men's 400 metres world record of 43.03 seconds at the 2016 Olympic Games.

He achieved the mark in the final at the Olympic Stadium in Rio de Janeiro on 14 August 2016. Starting in lane eight, van Niekerk ran away from the field and won by a substantial margin. His time broke the previous world record of 43.18 seconds, set by Michael Johnson in 1999.

The performance made van Niekerk the first athlete to run under 10 seconds for 100 metres, under 20 seconds for 200 metres, and under 44 seconds for 400 metres. A common mix-up is confusing his Olympic record with Johnson's earlier 400-metre record. Van Niekerk's mark also became an African record and remains the Olympic record.