Rudisha smashes his 800m record

By Mutwiri Mutuota

For the second time in a week, David Lekuta Rudisha lowered the world 800m record to an astonishing 1:41.01 at the IAAF World Challenge meeting in Rieti to follow in the hallowed footsteps of Wilson Kipketer. Rudisha clocked 1:41.01 seconds in the two-lap race at the Rieti Grand Prix last evening, shaving 0.08 seconds off his mark set last weekend in Berlin.

Until a week ago, Kipketer, the Kenyan-born Dane, held record of 1:41.11 for almost 14 years before Rudisha got on the act, first clocking 1:41.09 to smash the record before last evening’s unbelievable showing at a track where at first, he was tipped to lower the long standing mark.

Following his remarkable feat, Athletics Kenya (AK) were almost as quick to extend their congratulations to Rudisha, with the federation’s general secretary, David Okeyo, telling FeverPitch: "We are very happy with the boy! He can even lower it to 1:40! He ran very well and you could see the gap he opened up on runner-up, Boaz Lalang! To have them both in our Commonwealth team is a blessing."

"Hongera, hongera, hongera Rudisha! (Congratulations Rudisha)!" IAAF Deputy Communications Director, Ms Anna Legnani told FeverPitch from Monaco. "(Kenyans) have yourself another Rudisha Day!" she added.

ROLL OF HONOUR

Adjectives are running out to describe Rudisha’s ascendancy in 800m running since he first appeared on the international scene by striking at the 2006 World Junior Championships in Beijing.

He followed in the sanctified footsteps of former record holder Kipketer, his immediate predecessor in the men 800m roll of honour, by breaking the world record twice in a season. Kipketer ran 1:41.73 on June 10, 1997 in Florence to equal Lord Sebastian Coe’s former top mark raced on June 10, 1981 before topping the time on August 13 by lowering the world best to 1:41.24 in Zurich. Eleven days later in Cologne, Kipketer, the three-time world champion ran 1:41.11 for the long-standing record Rudisha erased from history books permanently in Berlin.

Rudisha, the African champion over the distance only reached the semi-finals of the 2009 World Championships, but with an automatic ticket for the October 3 to 14 Commonwealth Games, the Kilgoris-born runner could soon expand his medal cabinet. Already, plans are afoot to toast to the world record holder with 50 bulls reportedly up for slaughter.