Rudisha wins Olympic 800 in world record time

LONDON (AP) ? On a night dominated by Usain Bolt, David Rudisha was determined to get a piece of the spotlight. The 23-year-old Kenyan ended up going one better.

He did what no one else, Bolt included, has been able to do: set a world record on the London Olympic track.

Rudisha had told his rivals in the 800 meters to be ready for a world record, and he delivered on his word, winning Thursday's final in 1 minute, 40.91 seconds, one-tenth of a second off the mark he set in 2010.

"I know people love Bolt," Rudisha said, when asked about being overshadowed by the sport's biggest star. "I'm happy for him, and I'm happy for me."

After crossing the finish, he flung up both arms to celebrate, then draped himself in a Kenyan flag and posed for photographs near the timing clock with "NEW WR" on it. He has been the dominant 800-meter runner for the last three years, setting the world record three times and losing just once since 2009. This, though, topped all that.

"It's something special to break the world record at the Olympics," Rudisha said.

Sebastian Coe, a middle-distance running great and head of the London organizing committee, wasn't in much doubt.

"That was simply an unbelievable performance," Coe said. "David Rudisha showed supreme physical and mental confidence to run like that in an Olympic final.

"Instead of just doing enough to win the race, he wanted to do something extraordinary and go for the world record as well. Rudisha's run will go down in history as one of the greatest Olympic victories."

Less than an hour later, Bolt won the 200 meters to clinch a repeat double in the Olympic sprints, backing up his 100-200 winning double in Beijing with another one in London.

Bolt, however, fell short of his own world record when he eased up in the final strides.

In the 800, 18-year-old Nigel Amos took silver in a world junior record time of 1:41.73 to give Botswana its first Olympic medal, and Timothy Kitum of Kenya got the bronze in 1:42.53.

Americans Duane Solomon and Nick Symmonds finished fourth and fifth, just ahead of 18-year-old Mohamed Aman of Ethiopia, the world indoor champion who handed Rudisha his only loss in three years last September.

Kitum, who finished more than 1 1/2 seconds behind his Kenyan teammate, said Rudisha had predicted a record.

"Yes, he's the greatest runner," Kitum said. "He told me he's going to run a world record today. He's the best."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/rudisha-wins-olympic-800-world-record-time-215337393--oly.html

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