Is he the best athlete you’ve never heard of? Kenya’s David
Rudisha is the Usain Bolt of 800m running and as short as 1-14 for tonight’s
final, all for good reason. Lord Coe’s 1981 record stood for more than 16 years
before it was matched and beaten by Wilson Kipketer, and Rudisha – one of only
two men to better it – lowered it twice within the space of a single week in
2010, lowering the best time over two laps to one minute 41.01 at the age of
just 21.
no-one except the Kenyan has broken the 1:43 barrier this
year in his unbeaten run, with the four fastest performances of the season, a
pair of those - 1:41.74 in New York and 1:41.54 in Paris – in sub-1:42
territory. Truly an expcetional athlete,
I’m looking forward to watching him today and seeing if he can break his own
world record without pacemaker assistance – that’s a 10/1 shot on Betfair and 7/1
with general bookmakers, and both are sure to have their takers.
The race for second place is also pretty tight with a bunch
of talented young runners all with strong medal claims. Nijel Amos is the world’s
fastest teenager this year, having clocked 1:43.11 in early June and then
taking the World Junior title, where he beat Timothy Kitum, who looked good in
both rounds of the heats and comes here ranked as the fifth fastest man here.
Both will fancy their podium chances but they will face
stiff competition from Abubaker Kaki, who followed Rudisha home at the World
Championships last year and posted a seasonal best in his semi, and Mohammed
Aman, the last man to beat Rudisha, is the world indoor champion at just 18,
the fastest man into the final (even if by just a tenth of a second) and the
one man who may be able to Rudisha a race if he was to falter. I imagine he won’t
though, but the Ethiopian might be best of the rest.
Advice
2 pts Mohammed Aman w/o David Rudisha (10/11 Stan James)
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