David Rudisha breaks 800m World Record

Rudisha breaks 800m world record
SPORTS DIGEST: ATHLETICS: Kenyan David Rudisha broke the 800 metres world record that had stood for 13 years yesterday, clocking one minute 41.09 seconds at the ISTAF meeting in Berlin.

Rudisha snatched the world record from Denmark’s Wilson Kipketer, who set a mark of 1.41.11 in 1997 in Cologne, Germany.

“This was my first real attempt to break the world record. I knew I was good, I had trained very hard,” he said.

“Now that I have run that time, I can say I have the ability to improve and go faster.”

The 21-year-old retained the African Championships title over the distance last month in the fastest time ever run in his athletics-mad country, proving he was a force to be reckoned with.

Semenya tops in Berlin again
ATHLETICS: Caster Semenya returned to the scene of her 800 metres World Championship triumph in Berlin yesterday.

Following a storm of controversy as doubts were raised about her gender, she was cleared to run again on July 6th and returned to action with victories in two low-key meetings in Finland, clocking 2:04.22 and 2:02.41.

But she improved significantly to dip under two minutes with a time of 1:59.90.

Outstanding Rudisha sets new 800m world record

By Ryland James (AFP)
Google News
August 23 2010

BERLIN — Kenya's David Lekuta Rudisha set a new world record of one minute 41.09 seconds in the 800 metres on Sunday at Berlin's Olympic Stadium to produce the stand-out performance of the day.

His time at the World Challenge meet shaved two hundredths of a second off the previous best mark set by Denmark's Kenyan-born Wilson Kipketer in August 1997 and insisted he can go even faster.

The 21-year-old African record holder and former world junior champion in the same distance in 2006, was led through the first 400m by pacesetter Sammy Tangui in 48.65sec.

Rudisha then managed to keep up his pace through to the line to break Kipketer's long-standing record, something he had recently been threatening to do.

"This was my first real attempt to break the world record, I knew I was good, I had trained hard," said the softly-spoken Kenyan.

"Now that I have run that time, I can say I have the ability to improve and go faster.

"I am very happy, it feels great to have the world record."

Having only reached the 800m semi-finals at the World Athletics Championships here in Berlin last August, Rudisha said he came to the German capital with something to prove and wanted to make up for last year's disappointment.

"Last year, I had a bad time in Berlin," he said.

"So I did not want to talk too much about the world record before the race.

"I knew it was my day, the weather was good.

"I told my pacemaker to run the first lap under 49 seconds. He did a great job, but in the last 200 metres I had to push really hard.

"But when I saw the clock at the end, it was amazing, a fantastic feeling.

"I am very happy to be the fastest 800 metres runner in the world.

"Running is like a profession to me, so this means everything."

Rudisha has been in great form all season while competing in Europe.

In Oslo's Diamond League meeting in June, he broke Sebastian Coe's 31-year-old meeting record with a run of 1 min 42.04 sec.

Then at a meet in the Belgian city of Heusden-Zolder in July, Rudisha timed 1:41.51, an African record and the fastest time in the world since Kipketer set the previous best 13 years ago.

In the days other events, South Africa's controversial teenage world champion Caster Semenya won the women's 800m in one minute 59.50 seconds, on the same track where she burst onto the world stage last year, as she continues her comeback after being gender tested by the sports governing body.

Local heroine and European bronze medallist Ariane Friedrich won the women's high jump with a leap of 1.97m, while German world champion Robert Harting won the discus with a throw of 68.24m.

World and Olympic champion Steven Hooker of Australia failed to register a height in the men's pole vault -- for the fourth time this season.

Ethiopia's Tariku Bekele won the men's 3000m in a world leader time of seven minutes 28.99 seconds and admitted he had only planned to help Bernard Lagat of the United States try to break the American record.

There was disappointment for America's Lolo Jones in the 100m hurdles as the world indoor champion finished sixth behind winner Priscilla Lopes-Schliep of Canada who ran 12.57sec.

Jamaicans dominated the sprints as Nesta Carter won the men's 100m in 9.96 seconds, while Sherone Simpson won the women's in 11.09secs.

Split times from TrackNews.com

http://www.trackandfieldnews.com/index.php/display-article?arId=48269

Lap Times In 800 WRs Since The First Sub-1:50
Since Tom Hampson of Britain ran history's first sub-1:50 in the 800 at the '32 Olympics, only twice in the progression of the fastest time ever (not necessarily the official World Record) has the mark been made with a second lap faster than the first. Those were by Jim Ryun and Dave Wottle.

Going backwards, the best-time progression, with lap splits and differential (+ = converted from 880-yard time):

1:41.09 David Rudisha 49.1/52.0 +2.9

1:41.11 Wilson Kipketer 49.3/51.8 +2.5

1:41.24 Kipketer 48.3/52.9 +4.6

1:41.73 Kipketer 49.6/52.1 +2.5

1:41.73 Seb Coe 49.7/52.0 +2.3

1:42.33 Coe 50.6/51.7 +1.1

1:43.44 Alberto Juantorena 51.4/52.0 +0.6

1:43.50 Juantorena 50.9/52.6 +1.7

1:43.5+ Rick Wohlhuter 50.7/52.8 +2.1

1:43.7 Marcello Fiasconaro 51.2/52.5 +1.3

1:44.0+ Wohlhuter 51.7/52.3 +0.6

1:44.3 Dave Wottle 52.9/51.4 -1.5

1:44.40 Ralph Doubell 51.2/53.2 +2.0

1:44.3+ Jim Ryun 53.0/51.3 -1.7

1:44.3 Peter Snell 50.6/53.7 +2.9

1:45.7 Roger Moens 52.6/53.3 +0.7

1:46.6 Rudolf Harbig 52.8/53.8 +1.0

1:48.4 Sydney Wooderson 52.3/56.1 +3.8

1:49.0+ Elroy Robinson 53.2/55.8 +2.6

1:49.1+ Glenn Cunningham 53.7/56.0 +2.3

1:49.1 Ben Eastman 53.7/55.4 +1.7

1:49.8 Tom Hampson 54.8/54.9 +0.1

Rudisha ran 45.50 in Sydney this year. 400m speed is vital for top level 800's. can't run fast 8's without fast 4 speed.