David RUDISHA: Kenya’s crowned perfectionist
Copyright : Panoramic
The London Olympic Stadium, on Thursday, held sight to a spectacular performance from Kenya’s David Rudisha. King Rudisha gratified athletics fans with an incredible double — a gold medal and a world record.The Kenyan had not been entirely truthful when he said his objective was to win gold at the London Olympics; he didn’t mention the part about setting a new world record in the 800m event. At the finals, the world champion put up a fine show of his athletic skills running gracefully from start to a perfect finish. It could be said that he finished in record time (1’40”91) partly thanks to the young Botswanan, Nigel Amos, who almost beat him to the finish line forcing him to stretch his ability further. Rudisha is the first athlete in the world to finish the 800m race in less than 1:41. Nigel Amos (18), on his part, holds a national record and the 11th best time in the world. Let’s rewind the clock a little and take a closer look at the profile of this athlete who has engraved his name on the walls of the hall of fame. His glorious performance started in 2010 when he was crowned Athlete of the Year by the Athletics International Federation at the end of a year that saw him break the world record twice in the 800m event . The best time had been set so high by Kenyan-born Danish athlete, Wilson Kipketer (1’ 41’’23), that it seemed impossible for anyone to break his record. The native of Kilgoris did not stop at winning the Holy Grail in grand style that year, he went ahead to clinch about 12 titles in this event finishing all between 1’43’’ and 1’41’’. Remarkably enough, nothing seems to slow the Kenyan down in his quest for more titles — not even the increasing number of challenges and challengers. Rudisha has been so prolific since 2010 that very few athletes, have come close to seeing his jersey in high profile races. The English record man of the 80s, Sebastien Coe and the Danish Wilson Kipketer of the 90s, did not compete against such valiant and challenging athletes like Abubaker Kaki, the skillful runner from Sudan who has always come close to beating the Rudisha. His style alone has won the admiration of the Danish runner, Wilson Kipketer. Two years ago, at the end of the Continental Cup in Split which Rudisha won, the Danish applauded him: “This is just the beginning, he still has a very long career ahead of him and it will take a very long time for his record to be broken.” The Danish 800m hero also made very positive remarks about the Kenyan’s style of running in a press conference last September in Croatia: “I used to cover 400m in 46 seconds but David is close to doing it in 45 seconds. With his forward style of running, he is well on his way to becoming the first athlete to achieve a record of less than 100 seconds (1’40’’) in the 800m” David Rudisha’s performance on Thursday at the London Olympic Stadium gives credence to the statement made by one of the greatest athletes in the 800m. The current world champion has already won all the major titles in just two years, World Championship and Olympic gold, all within a hair’s breadth to 1’40’’. And the race is only just beginning as every athlete on the planet would be battling to achieve his performance or break his record especially the very talented and young Nigel Amos from Botswana. Profile RUDISHADavidLekuta Born on 17 December 1988 inKilgoris, Kenya Specialist in: 800 m Record: 800 m: 1’40’’91 (world record) Achievements Olympic Champion 2012, world champion 2011, African champion 2010 His ten best performances (2009-2012) 09 August 2012 (London): 1’40’’91 29 August2012 (Rieti), 1’41’’01 10 September 2011 (Rieti), 1’41’’ 33 10 July 2010 (Heusden-Zolder), 1’41’’51 06 July 2012(Paris), 1’41’’54 09 June 2012 (New York), 1’41’’74 06 September 2009 (Rieti), 1’42’’01 04 June 2010 (Oslo), 1’42’’04 23 June 2012 (Nairobi), 1’42’’12 22 July 2011 (Monaco), 1’42‘’61
