He came; he ran and conquered the world. 23.30sec for 200m, 49.28sec for 400m, 1min 14.30sec for 600m and 800m for 1 min 40.90 sec…
David Lekuta Rudisha, the world record holder and a debutant in the ongoing London Olympics set a new world record on Thursday night, becoming the first man in history to run two laps of the track in under 1min 41 sec.
Under the tutelage of an Irish coach Brother Colm O’ Connell, St. Patrick’s High School (Iten) 63-year athletics coach, Rudisha smashed his own record by a 19th of a second, clinching gold in 1 min 40.90 sec, becoming the third person to break the 800m record since 1979.
Sebastian Coe, a Briton, watched his 19-year record get washed up by Rudisha, in a race that all participants finished under 1 min 44 seconds, the fastest race ever run.
Timothy Kitum, a 17- year old Kenyan settled for bronze, with Motswana Nijel Amos wrapping up the silver medal.
Rudisha had promised to cause ripples in London from the start and even told Kitum before the race commenced that: ‘Don’t follow me. Go for the silver.’
“The greatest runner you have never heard of” according to BBC headline writers, sprinted the first 200m in 23.4 sec and cleared the first lap in 49.28 sec.
In the second lap, he accelerated opening the gap to seven metres, and won the race with zeal, stealing the limelight of Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, who became the first runner in history to retain gold medal in 200m.
His long, muscular strides carried him smoothly across the track causing the 80,000 crowd erupt into life as he engaged the last gear around the final bend.
The low-profile Kenyan talisman and the Kenyan captain of the entire team had no hysterics on the startline and the only difference noted in him was his larger smile that he produced at the end of the race.
After completing the customary lap of honour in the company of Timothy Kitum, Rudisha couldn’t hide his joy.
“I am very happy. I’ve waited for this moment for a very long time. To come here and get a world record is unbelievable. I had no doubt about winning. Today the weather was beautiful; I decided to go for it.” Indeed it was,” Rudisha told BBC journalists.
The man who grew up in Iten, Rift Valley has broken his own record 8 times and has lost only one race in his last 46. He has grown up watching the silver medal that Daniel Rudisha, his father, won in 4x400m relay at the 1968 Olympic Games held in Mexico. He avers that his father is his great inspiration.
“My father’s encouragement is what has brought me this far,” Rudisha says. “Because when I grew up I wanted to be like him, and I knew I had that ability to become an athlete. Being an Olympian is one of the greatest things, and being an Olympic gold medalist is one of the most prestigious titles in the world.”
Nijel Amos, the silver medalist had to be carried from the track in a stretcher, a sign of how ferocious the race was. He became the first Motswana to win an Olympic medal.
Some members of Great Britain’s 1980s middle-distance trinity had anticipated that he was the man to watch in the Olympics.
Sebastian Coe was quoted on BBC saying: “He is the outstanding 800m runner of his generation. And I will say it, probably on paper the most impressive track and field athlete at these games.”
Steve Ovett said: “A gold medal for Rudisha is a foregone conclusion.”
When he broke the world record in 2010, it is believed that his native Maasai community in Kilgoris slaughtered 1000 bulls. He was crowned a Maasai elder. With the Olympic medal dangling on his neck, how the celebration will be, this time round, we leave it to conjecture.
The writer is a Communication and Journalism student at Moi University.
