Rudisha sets WR, wins gold

Kenya's David Rudisha capped four years of dominance in the 800 metres by storming to gold in a world record time with a dazzling run at the London Olympics.

As the 80,000 crowd roared him on, the world champion scorched around the Olympic Stadium in one minute 40.91 to beat the mark of 1.41.01 he set two years ago in Italy.

"I had no doubt about winning but I was waiting for perfect conditions to break the record," the 23-year-old said.

"When I woke up this morning, I saw the weather was great and I knew I could do something special.

"I am happy. I've waited for this moment for a long time. To come here and get a world record is unbelievable."

Nijel Amos of Botswana won silver in 1.41.73 to claim his country's first Olympic medal and bronze went to his fellow teenager Tim Kitum of Kenya in 1.42.53.

"David told me he would get a world record. He told me he was going to go fast for the line," said Kitum. "He advised me not to follow him and to go for silver."

All but one of the eight athletes in the field ran personal bests and the time run by Britain's Andrew Osagie, who was last to cross the line, would have been good enough for gold at the last three Games.

"Those kind of times would get a medal in any other championships but David is on such good form," Osagie said. "It was an honour to be in that race."

The last runner in the field to set himself for the start, Rudisha hit the front halfway through the back straight and after that, with his smooth loping stride eating up the track, it was a straight run against the clock.

He pushed again after taking the bell in 49.28 seconds and came into the home straight 10 metres clear of teenager Amos, finding just enough in the tank to take him over the line a tenth of a second inside his own record.

Dubbed the "Pride of Africa" after winning the world junior title in 2006, Rudisha missed the Beijing Olympics through injury and was boxed in during the semi-finals at the 2009 world championships.

The following year, though, he shattered Wilson Kipketer's 13-year-old world record, only to improve it again the following week as he went unbeaten for 34 meets until the end of last season.

As well as winning him the world athlete of the year award, he was also made a warrior by his Maasai tribe, an honour that would once have required the killing of a lion among the semi-nomadic people.

Rudisha followed his father Daniel, who won a silver in the 4x400m relay in Mexico in 1968, as a Games medallist but is the first Olympic champion from the tribe.

His hopes of emulating his father by running the one-lap relay in London were dashed when Kenya were disqualified from the heats earlier on Thursday.

"It was really sad when they crashed," he said. "But there was nothing I could do about it. The relay is sometimes tricky."

Neither Kipketer, who ran for Denmark, nor his predecessor as 800m world record holder, Briton Sebastian Coe, won Olympic gold in the event.

"Lord Coe is a good friend of mine," Rudisha said. "I came here in February and he showed me around the stadium. I wanted to come here and make him proud."

Coe is now chairman of the London organising committee for the Games and hailed Rudisha's feat as "one of the great Olympic victories".

"That was simply an unbelievable performance," he said.

"David Rudisha showed supreme physical and mental confidence to run like that in an Olympic final. Instead of just doing enough to win the race he wanted to do something extraordinary.

"I feel privileged to have witnessed it in London."

Osagie - whose breakthrough season started with a bronze at the World Indoor Championships in Istanbul - carved nearly a second off the best time he ran earlier this season in New York.

And only Coe, Steve Cram and Peter Elliott have ever run faster in a British vest.

"My time would probably get medals at any other major championships but that time of David's was incredible," he said.

"I've come to the Olympics and I've run a personal best in the final but still come last, so there is lots of work to do.

"But this gives me great confidence, my aim was to get to the final but I still wanted a better performance.

"I thought I judged my pace perfectly but they never came back to me, although it was an absolute honour to be in that race with those guys.

"I've had a great time, enjoyed every minute and hopefully people know to watch out for me in the future."