Around the time Louis Oosthuizen established himself as a genuine medal contender for the Tokyo Games at the weekend, Wayde van Niekerk’s share price dropped.

Van Niekerk pulled up in the 200m at the annual Boston street sprints on Sunday, although he and his camp insisted afterwards that it was a precautionary move to avoid serious damage when his right hip felt tight.

Until the reigning Olympic 400m champion took his foot off the gas, he was in the mix with eventual winner Jerome Blake of Canada, who went on to clock 19.89 sec...