Wayde van Niekerk broke Michael Johnson’s 17-year-old record last night, as the South African won gold in the 400m in Brazil.
However, while most other athletes would have been zoned out in preparation for the big race, van Niekerk has revealed he was watching the pulsating Premier League encounter between his beloved Liverpool and Arsenal.
The 24-year-old, who beat Kirani James and LaShawn Merritt with his 43.03sec time, admitted he was “losing his mind” due to the high-scoring match between the two English giants.
van Niekerk told the Olympic News Service: “I watched the Liverpool match before, I was losing my mind because it was a tight match. We got the win.
“My brother is an Arsenal fan. Now I’ve got the world record and Liverpool beat Arsenal.”
So does that technically mean Jurgen Klopp masterminded a victory over the Gunners and inspired an Olympic champion.
