We Fed Rudisha On Kulenaoto, In Return He Has Flown The Kenyan Flag High

 Narok, the home of the globally acclaimed Masai Mara Game Reserve, is also the home of world champion David Lekuta Rudisha. The world’s fastest athlete in the middle-distance 800 metres race hails from Trans-Mara, to the south of Narok Town. 

His remarkable exploits on the track have made Kenyans, the people of Narok and his birthplace in Kilgoris proud, as their son scales the heights of world athletics. Rudisha powered his way into history books, winning his speciality at the 2012 London Olympics in a world-record time and becoming the first and  only  man  to  ever  run 800 metres in under one minute and 41 seconds, in what was described as the greatest race ever over the distance. 

Rudisha has been coached since he was a teenager by Brother Colm O’Connell, who has groomed dozens of track stars from his base at St Patrick’s Iten High School, including 25 world champions and five Olympics champions. The training camp was set up in 1989, a year after Rudisha was born.

Rudisha missed most of last season due to a knee injury. “I was injured last season after only two races. That was disappointing, but I have worked  hard  to  get  fit and healthy again, and I’m looking forward to running the 800 metres soon,” Rudisha had told this writer in an interview before the athletics season started.

He was expected to make his comeback to the International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF) Diamond League opener in the Qatari capital Doha, where he is a cult hero. But he missed the May 9 event following another injury. Rudisha strained a calf muscle during training, but came back for the second IAAF Diamond League meets in Eugene, Oregon, USA and others in Europe where he made an impression, winning a few and posting good times in some.

David Rudisha

He also participated in the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland where he displayed his prowess to win the silver medal. As he recovers from the effects of his injury, which has certainly affected his form, Rudisha is courageously battling to regain his champion status Qatar Athletics Federation secretary general Mohamed AlKuwari describes the 25-year-old superstar in glowing terms, which will certainly make Narok County residents and Kenyans proud. 

“Rudisha is truly one the best athletes in the world, already a legend in this event. Like many other athletics fans, we are very interested to see him back in competition after he missed out most of last season due to injury,” said Al-Kuwari, moments before news of the athlete’s last injury.

The soft-spoken Rudisha comes from a family with an athletics history. His father Daniel Rudisha was an Olympic silver medalist in Mexico City in 1968. His younger brother Francis Rudisha is also doing well in athletics. “We are one family, but God has his own plans for everyone. As a person, I would only pray that he (Francis) excels and even breaks my world record,” Rudisha says of his younger brother.

Bro O’Connell says earlier the coaching team advised Rudisha to take a break and even settle with his family before going for treatment. He was doing well after undergoing therapeutic exercises in and outside the country.

He had been to Germany for gym work and massage exercise for two months as part of routine programmes. But all that effort was to be thwarted by the injury that came only days before the Doha event.

On August 22, 2010, Rudisha broke Wilson Kipketer’s 800 metres world record two days before the 13^th anniversary of that record with a time of 1:41.09 in Berlin. A week later he broke the record again at the Rieti Diamond League meet in Italy, lowering it to 1:41.01.Kipketer, too, was a product of Iten .In November 2010, at the age of 21, Rudisha became the youngest ever athlete to win the IAAF World Athlete of the Year. He also won the Kenya Sportsman of the Year Award. 

Kenyans and residents of Narok County, Rudisha’s birthplace are Rudisha savours his 800m world record triumph. Optimistic that the World 800 metres record hold will soon be back to his imperious form, striding graciously into the history books of sports fame.