Is Rudisha able to return the London gold feat?

‘Rudisha’ is the Swahili word for ‘return’. It remains a riddle as to whether Kenya’s track maestro David Rudisha will fly back home with his two-lap race crown.

And his name will no doubt inspire ‘King David’, the Olympics 800m champion and world record holder, when he steps onto the track at the Olympic Stadium at 4:25am (Kenyan time) tomorrow.

The million shilling question racing across the minds of athletics diehards around the globe is whether Rudisha will return the Olympic gold to Kenya?

The lanky runner from Kilgoris, Narok County, stands out as a man under focus at the Rio Olympics as his stunning show in the 2012 London Olympics is still fresh in the minds of many after he set the world record at 1:40.91.

But Rudisha has not been himself throughout the season and comes to Rio not as a red-hot favourite despite being the Olympics champion. He lost to compatriot Ferguson Rotich twice – in the Shanghai and Stockholm Diamond League meetings – and has admitted to feeling the pressure to deliver in Rio.

And as if the losses to Rotich were not enough, Rudisha sneaked into Kenya’s Olympics team after 19-year-old Alfred Kipketer shocked him and Rotich at the trials held at Kipchoge Keino Stadium last month.

Kipketer, the 2014 world junior champion, clocked a personal best time of 1:43.48 and has to prove to Rudisha that his win at the Kenyan trials were no fluke.

But whether the youngster beats Rudisha at his own game, considering another youngster that was expected to rival Rudisha - Botswana’s Nigel Amos - could not even make it out of the heats on Friday, remains to be seen.

Rudisha showed he was not ready to successfully defend his title with a commanding win in heat three of the semi-finals on Saturday. Kipketer won heat two while Rotich also booked a ticket in the final as one of the faster losers after finishing fourth in heat one.

However, one of the coaches who has interacted with Rudisha a number of times believes the 800m king is not ready to hand over his crown just yet.

“I have watched Rudisha in training after losing in the Kenyan trials and I can tell you that it will take a brave man to beat him in today’s final,” coach Boniface Tiren told Feverpitch.

Apart from the Kenyan threat, Rudisha will also have to deal with the challenge from Poland’s Adam Kszcot, who seems to have been in the two-lap race for a very long time.