Rudisha joins Olympic royalty
Rio de Janeiro, August 16
Kenya’s David Rudisha obliterated his rivals in the 800 metres final on Monday to become the first man since 1964 to retain his Olympic title over the distance. Rudisha, the world champion and world record holder, stormed to victory with a devastating final-lap sprint that cemented his place among the greats such as New Zealand’s Peter Snell, the last man to successfully defend an 800m Olympic gold.
Nicknamed ‘King David’ in Kenya, Rudisha hit top gear in the final 300 metres to surge ahead of his rivals with his trademark finishing kick and win gold in a season’s best time of one minute 42.15 seconds. “I am so excited. It is the greatest moment of my career,” Rudisha said.
After winning his first Olympic gold and setting a world record at the 2012 London Games, Rudisha suffered a couple of injury-ravaged years that dented his confidence and caused him to miss the 2013 world championships. He struggled for much of the current season and came third in national Olympic trials but the 6-foot-3-inch Maasai runner looked in total control of the final as his long stride and fluid running style propelled him to victory. “It’s been very difficult,” Rudisha said, referring to his injuries. “I have stayed focused and positive.”
The 27-year-old crossed the line several metres ahead of Algeria’s Taoufik Makhloufi, the London Games gold medal winner over 1,500m.
Fast-finishing American Clayton Murphy set a personal best time to take bronze.
Tight schedule slowed down 100m sprinters: Bolt
Usain Bolt rarely complains about going too fast. After the rushed road to Sunday night’s 100m final, he had to make an exception. Faced with a turnaround time of barely over an hour between the semifinal and final, Bolt had trouble gearing up to be at his best for the marquee event. “I don’t know who decided that,” Bolt said. “It was really stupid. So, that’s why the race was slow.”
It was a decision made with broadcasters in mind more than runners. In the recent past, 100m sprinters have been given more than two hours between semis and final. Justin Gatlin, the silver medallist, said the quick turnaround sapped his strength so much, he couldn’t even think about winning. — Agencies
Rainy day
When Usain Bolt received his historic third consecutive 100m gold medal at the Olympic Stadium, the stands seemed to be not even 50 percent full. This was in contrast to the previous night, when a full house — plus every official, venue official, security men and food stall operators — went mad for roughly 10 seconds, the time taken by Bolt to win the 100m final. But Monday night athletics was drenched by a heavy shower. Rio changed its colours, and it went from hot in the day to cool and cold in the night. Few people turned up at the venue.
The qualification stage of the women’s discus throw was on. India’s Seema Punia was to compete, and some of the women seemed very upset with the lack of the grip on the ground and on the disc due to the rain. Many women suffered as their throws were counted fouls. Before Seema’s turn came to compete, the shower became too intense to continue. The event was stopped for 31 minutes before it was restarted.
Some of the men’s 110m hurdles races were run under heavy rain, and the timings were slow. Jamaica’s Deuce Carter was running in the rain for the first time, and he ended up seventh in his heat, and later said that he couldn’t see properly in the rain. “It’s part of life,” said Carter. But Carter isn’t seventh material, and the race was re-run later. This time Carter finished first, with a time of 13.51, to qualify for the semis. — Rohit Mahajan
