Wayde van Niekerk, Monica Puig honored for Rio performances

South African 400-meter gold medalist Wayde van Niekerk and women's tennis champion Monica Puig received global awards on Tuesday for their performances at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

Van Niekerk won for best male athlete of the games and Puig for best female athlete in the Association of National Olympic Committees (Anoc) awards.

Van Niekerk, running in lane 8, won the 400 in a world-record time of 43,03 seconds, breaking Michael Johnson's 17-year-old mark of 43,18. Puig beat Angelique Kerber in the women's tennis final to win Puerto Rico's first ever Olympic gold medal.

The two picked up their awards at a ceremony on Tuesday night in connection with the Anoc general assembly in Doha.