Kenya: Rudisha On Fire

Nairobi Star (Nairobi)

Chris Mbaisi

2 July 2011

World record holder David Rudisha bounced back from injury with a win in his first big race of the season at the Diamond League meeting in Lausanne on Thursday night. Rudisha, who twice broke the world record in the 800 metres last season, had no trouble as he won the race in one minute 44.15 seconds.

The 22-year-old Kenyan, last season’s revelation, burst clear at the halfway mark although he eased up near the end and was well short of his world record time of 1:41.01. “I felt good in the race, I had a good kick in the first 300 metres and felt strong afterwards,” said Rudisha.

The world record holder found himself racing alone after his Kenyan pacemaker and training partner Sammy Tangui stepped off the track after a perfect first lap of 49.48sec. That allowed Rudisha to power into the back-straight where his pace opened-up a gap of 20m with half a circuit remaining. However, the world record holder, winner at this meeting in 2007 and last year, did lose much of his advantage down the final straight as Marcin Lewandowski and Amine Laalou fought a tense battle for the minor positions. World champion Mbulaeni Mulaudzi of South Africa was a modest eighth.

Kenya’s Commonwealth champion Milcah Chemos, with a fourth 3,000m steeplechase victory, virtually assured herself of a second Diamond Race Trophy as she also raced to victory. She was, however, made to fight every inch of the way, thanks to a stiff challenge from three of her rivals.

This was the first occasion a women’s 3000m steeplechase has been staged at the Athletissima meet, and Chemos duly won in 9:19.87 with Ethiopia’s Sofia Assefa finishing second for a third successive encounter.

The 5,000m saw Kenyan Vincent Chepkok smash the meet record held by compatriot Sammy Kipketer, after beating Imane Merga and Eliud Kipchoge in a thrilling finish to clock 12:59.13. The distance which has not been raced at this meeting for four years was always likely to see the mark of 13:01.93 achieved by Kipketer in 2000 broken, and it was so, thanks in part to a final last lap burn-up by Chepkok.

Chepkok assured himself victory with one final spurt just short off the line when he sensed a late challenge from Ethiopia’s Merga, who had pushed him into third place in Rome. The Ethiopian had passed Kenya’s former world champion Kipchoge for second place with 50m to run. Merga finished in 12:59.47, while Kipchoge after a lean spell this summer set a season’s best of 12:59.71.

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