Here’s a big Sonny Side of Sports salute for David Rudisha, Kenya’s new world record holder at 800-meters. David clocked 1:41.09 at an international meet in Berlin to break the nearly 13-year-old record (of 1:41:11) set by Wilson Kipketer, another athlete from Kenya, which has produced so many of the world’s greatest runners.
The 21-year-old Rudisha has been having an outstanding season on the European circuit. Once the pacemaker dropped out after the first lap in Berlin, Rudisha moved into a higher gear, exploding away from the field in the German capital. “I saw I was inside world record pace in the final straight and I just went for it,” said Rudisha, whose family has a proud athletic pedigree.
David’s father, Daniel, won a silver medal for Kenya in the 4 x 400-meter relay at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City. David says he’s hoping to win a medal at the 2012 Olympics in London. At only 21 years of age, David Rudisha says he feels he has room to improve and can run even faster.