Rio Olympics 2016: David Rudisha retains 800m crown
16.08.2016 15:01
David Rudisha retained his Olympic 800m title with an imperious performance.
The 27-year-old Kenyan showed his experience to keep his composure after compatriot Alfred Kipketer sprinted clear on the first lap of the race.
Rudisha hit the front with about 300m to go as Kipketer started to fade and never looked troubled as he won in one minute 42.15 seconds.
Algeria's Taoufik Makhloufi won silver and the fast-finishing Clayton Murphy of the United States took bronze.
Makhloufi ran a new national record of one minute 42.61 seconds and Murphy clocked a personal best of one minute 42.93 seconds in a bizarre race.
Kipketer set out at an incredible pace, going through the first 200m in just 23 seconds.
But the 19-year-old, who had beaten Rudisha in the Kenyan national trials, faded to finish seventh in Rio.
Rudisha's win made him the first athlete since New Zealand's Peter Snell in 1964 to retain the men's 800m Olympic title.
He said: "Running 1:42, it's just fantastic. I had no doubts before. The feeling in my body was good.
"It is great to win such a big competition, my second gold. It's so great. I am so excited. It is the greatest moment of my career."
Analysis
BBC Sport's chief sports writer Tom Fordyce in Rio:
"He is the greatest 800m runner of all time, and he may also be the nicest man in his sport.
"Rudisha may not be at the same holy level as that unforgettable night in London, but he remains both a joy to watch and an unstoppable force.
"After the injuries he suffered after 2012 - missing the worlds in 2013, requiring a serious knee operation less than two years ago - this victory was never preordained. He just makes it look that way."
(BBC)
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