In an incredible title race for gold on the 800 meters heat, David Rudisha finished first at 1:42. Rudisha is the only Kenyan to retain an Olympic gold title. Yet another crowning moment for the 27 year old at an Olympic stage, this time round he did not edge close to his own world record. Pundits say he is the greatest runner of the 800m and also the nicest man in his sport.
The 800m ended with gold for David Rudisha, silver for Taoufik Makhloufi of Algeria and bronze for American Clayton Murphy. At the start of the race, Rudisha hinted to his Kenyan Compatriots Alfred Kipketer and Ferguson Cheruiyot Rotich that he would be easy on the start and build pace. He thought his colleagues would fall with that plan and maybe scoop all the medals. Kipketer was overly excited as he sprinted ahead of them all and lead at 200m. That strategy did not go as planned for him as burnout got real after first lap. He had an elbow collision with Rudisha forcing Rudisha to slow down. The heat went up on the last 250m, Rudisha steered clear of the group and ran set the pace till the finish line. He met up with reporters and was elated, “The feeling in my body was good, it’s great to win my second gold, it is the greatest moment of my career”. With long strides and upward pose, his pace was too good and a new chapter in history was written.
In a stormy night, Rudisha had his doubts about this race. In previous occasions like Berlin championship, Milan, Zurich and Glasgow, rain has contributed on his underperformance. His manager said it was all in the mind, and this morning Rudisha had to wait for a two hour storm to calm down. The race was also suspended for 30 minutes to clear the track. 5am local time and a stadium half full, everyone was elated to watch Rudisha run for gold again. Mind you, Rudisha has been battling a knee injury in the last three years, he has undergone surgery but the effect comes to haunt him in any major race.
David Rudisha has dominated all major events since 2012 making him the greatest athlete of all time on the 800m heat. He holds 3 of the fastest, six of the eight fastest, and half of the twenty fastest times ever run in this event. So the Tag of G.O.A.T befits him, and so does Kenya celebrate him in every possible way. The Man has been awarded the Title MBS as per the state commendations of Kenya by the president. Tokyo Olympics 2020 is where Rudisha has his eyes on at the moment.
From Kenyanvibe.com, we are equally jolly as gold for team Kenya is in the bag. We are hoping for more medals from the Rio 2016 games.
