T-Systems South Africa and Wayde van Niekerk set to take “43:03 – the Wayde van Niekerk Story” to international film festivals
T-Systems South Africa, the multinational ICT Solutions specialist and technology partner to Olympic Gold Medallist and 400m World Record holder – Wayde van Niekerk, premiered a documentary on the sprinter’s life on 29 May in Cape Town and 31 May in Johannesburg.
Titled “43:03 – The Wayde van Niekerk Story”, the documentary was named after the World Record time set by Van Niekerk at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic games and will give South African’s a glimpse into van Niekerk’s life and his rise to become an international athletics icon.
Said Dineo Molefe, MD at T-Systems South Africa, “We are incredibly proud of Wayde and the relationship that we have shared over the past two years. We continue to connect with his value system that is centred around family, physical well-being, spiritual balance, commitment to giving back and his passion for South Africa. These values are exemplified by the manner in which he represents our country on a global stage. We made a decision at the outset of our partnership that we wanted to share Wayde’s story with South Africa and the rest of the world as a means to inspire, provide hope and to tell a true African global success story. It is this and our commitment to a truly remarkable South African example of dedication and passion that motivated us to sponsor the production of the documentary.”
Van Niekerk added, “My journey has been an incredible one and achieving my goals of winning the World Championships, Olympic Gold and setting world records has allowed me to live out my dreams, T-Systems has supported me beyond the athletics track by getting involved in assisting to set up the Wayde Dreamer Foundation. It is therefore an honour for me to be able to share my story with South Africa and with the rest of the world and I hope it can inspire others to pursue their dreams.”
T-Systems sponsored the production of the documentary which was created by Harambee Communications. Said Mpumi Nhlapo, Head of Marketing and Partner Management at T-Systems South Africa, who is also an executive producer on the film, “We are proud to have partnered with and supported a local production company to create this documentary. Together, we will present the documentary to a number of international film festivals for their consideration. This will enable us to expand on the exposure of Wayde’s life story and his commitment to philanthropic goals through the Wayde Dreamer Foundation. We believe that the story will have just as great an impact internationally as it will locally.”
The initial premiere of the documentary was attended by Wayde’s family, friends, sponsors and special guests from the sporting world. A number of Johannesburg fans also joined Wayde for the exclusive premiere in Montecasino, Johannesburg.
