Musik » loads. But Novak will win matches.

RIO DE JANEIRO -- Exploding out of the blocks in lane eight, Wayde van Niekerk didnt see another runner during the entire Olympic 400-meter final.He didnt need to. It was just him against the clock.The South African sprinter broke Michael Johnsons 17-year-old world record on Sunday night in Rio de Janeiro, leaving two of the greatest one-lap runners of this era in his dust. Van Niekerk finished in 43.03 seconds -- 0.15 seconds faster than Johnson ran on Aug. 26, 1999 in Seville, Spain. To think, Johnsons mark was considered one of the almost untouchable records in track, too.I was running blind all the way, Van Niekerk explained. I thought someone was going to catch me -- whats going on, whats going on, and it gave me motivation to keep on pushing.The 24-year-old Van Niekerk leaned at the finish line, which he really didnt need to do as Kirani James of Grenada and LaShawn Merritt of the Unites States werent even in the picture. James, the defending Olympic champion, finished with the silver and Merritt, who won gold eight years ago in Beijing, hung on for bronze as he staggered across the line.Van Niekerk drove a wedge in the rivalry between James and Merritt at the world championships last August, when he beat them both with such a lung-searing performance that he left the track on a stretcher.Now, hes the fastest ever.Instead of collapsing at the finish this time, Van Niekerk dropped to one knee and put his head in his hands. Moments later, he draped the multi-colored South African flag around his shoulders and took off his spikes. As he did so, Van Niekerk pointed at the clock to make sure everyone saw his time.Hard to miss. It was that impressive.Even Usain Bolt thought so, seeking out Van Niekerk and congratulating him moments after the Jamaican won his unprecedented third 100 title. The compliments kept on coming with Johnson, a track and field TV analyst for BBC, weighing in as well.Oh my God! From lane eight, a world record. He took it out so quick, Johnson told the BBC. I have never seen anything from 200 to 400 like that.That was a massacre from Wayde van Niekerk. He just put those guys away.They didnt stand a chance. James thought he possibly had enough in the tank to catch Van Niekerk around the final curve. No way.No one did. This was really a race for silver, with James easily holding off Merritt, who had to dig deep to cling to the bronze.He just wouldnt slow down, James said. Usually, what happens is the last 100 (meters) guys start to slow down a little bit, but he just kept going. When you keep going like that, obviously a record is going to fall.Akani Simbine, who is Van Niekerk roommate in the Olympic Village, said his teammate was targeting the record.But we didnt bring it up much because thats just added pressure, you know, said Simbine, who finished fifth in the 100 final. He knows what he needs to do and we believe in what he can do.It was just a thing of, OK, he said hes going to do it, break the world record, and here he did it.A world record -- precisely what the sport needed in the wake of a Russian doping scandal that grabbed the headlines before the Olympics.A fast, fresh face -- also a boost since Bolt cant be around forever.Van Niekerk is so young, what else can he do? Can he go under 43 seconds? Johnson said. It is something I thought I could do, but never did. Usain Bolt will be retiring soon. This could be the next star of the sport.---AP Sports Writers Gerald Imray and Jenna Fryer contributed. Wholesale Nike Shoes . Following a lopsided 5-2 loss against the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday night, Paul MacLean told reporters that "theres a lack of focus, theres a lack of leadership and theres a lack of preparation" with his struggling team. That came on the heels of Bryan Murray taking the unusual step of going into the locker room at the Prudential Center and addressing the players himself. Cheap Nike Shoes China . Robredo, ranked No. 16, bounced back from an upset loss to Leonardo Mayer in the second round of the Royal Guard Open in Chile last week to down Carreno Busta in 1 hour, 25 minutes. On a day filled mostly with qualifying matches, fifth-seeded Marcel Granollers of Spain also entered the second with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 win over Aljaz Bedene of Slovenia, while Guido Pella of Argentina defeated Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 7-6 (6), 6-4 to advance. http://www.cheapnikeshoesdiscount.com/ . -- Ohio States Urban Meyer has never had any issue acclimating to the biggest stages in college football. Discount Nike Shoes . Durant finished with 24 points and 13 rebounds, Jackson matched his career high with 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting and Lamb scored 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, lifting the Thunder to a 94-88 win over San Antonio and snapping the Spurs 11-game winning streak. SHANGHAI --?Andy Murray admits his proximity to world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the rankings has caused him to reassess his short-term targets.A straight-sets victory over Roberto Bautista Agut in the final of the Shanghai Masters, winning 7-6 (1), 6-1 in 96 minutes, gave the Scot his sixth title of the year.More importantly, it moved him to within 915 points of Djokovic, who lost to Bautista Agut in the semifinals.With Murray currently in top form, having won 20 sets in succession to take the China and Shanghai titles, he has now set his sights on the Serbians position at the top of the rankings -- although he admits overhauling the 12-time Grand Slam winner will be difficult.My goal wasnt to finish No. 1 at the end of this year, but in the early parts of next year, there is an opportunity, he said. 900 points doesnt seem like loads. But Novak will win matches. He is the best player in the world. I dont think he has lost an indoor [match] in a long time.Murrays form is on an upward curve, and the Olympic gold medalist is pleased with how changes to his game have made a difference.ddddddddddddIn the last few months, I have won a lot of matches and made improvements, he added.I have been moving forward better and changed the direction of the ball better. I have also come up with some bigger serves when I have needed them.Murrays victory in Shanghai was his 41st career title, and he won it with very little fuss once he had comfortably negotiated a first-set tiebreak.Things went with serve until Murray broke his Spanish opponent to take a 4-3 lead, but when Bautista Agut broke back and then made it 6-5, Murray took the first set to a tiebreak with a love game.He cruised through the tiebreak to make it 19 sets won in a row, before three breaks of service to one for his opponent in the second set eased the Briton into a 5-1 lead. From there he closed out the match with a number of 100 mph second serves and powerful groundstrokes. ' ' '