Athletics
Rudisha to skip Games
2010-09-09 10:18
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Mark Ouma - SuperSport Johannesburg - Kenya’s world 800m record holder David Rudisha will not take part in the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, India, in October.
The World and former Africa Junior Champion in the two lap race stamped his authority on the event this year. Now a senior athlete Rudisha, 21, set a world record of one minute, 41.09 seconds (1:41.09) at the IAAF Challenge Series ISTAF meet in Berlin, Germany, on 22 August.
This bettered the old record of Kenyan-born Wilson Kipketer of Denmark (1:41.11) which stood for 13 years. Exactly a week later at the next IAAF Challenge series meet in Rieti, Italy, Rudisha further improved the world record to 1:41.01.
Before and after these record-breaking feats, Rudisha maintained an unbroken winning streak. He prevailed in the two-lap race whenever he showed up during the 14-leg Samsung Diamond League.
Then Rudisha led Alfred Kirwa Yego and Jackson Mumbwa Kivuva in a 1-2-3 Kenyan sweep of the 800m at the Africa Senior Championships in Nairobi (30 July). He has crowned his season with another 800m victory at the IAAF/VTB Bank Continental Cup in Split Croatia last weekend.
“My focus now is on winning the title at the World Championship next year and another gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics. To achieve these twin goals I need to take a rest now,” Rudisha told SuperSport.com.
“I started competing early with fast 400m runs (45.5) and 800m (1:43) in Australia early in the year. The Commonwealth Games comes at end of an unusually long season. If I continue running and staying in top shape through to the Commonwealth Games, then I will not have enough time to rest and recover before next year. So after the Continental Cup in Split, I have decided to close the season,” Rudisha declared.