David Rudisha

David Rudisha

Rudisha in Beijing in 2015
Personal information
Birth name	David Lekuta Rudisha
Nationality	Kenyan
Born	(1988-12-17) 17 December 1988 (age 28) Kilgoris, Narok County, Kenya
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Sport
Sport	Track and field
Event(s)	800 metres
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	400 m: 45.15 (2013) 800 m: 1:40.91 WR (2012)
Medal record Men's athletics Representing Kenya Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 2 0 0 World Championships 2 0 0 World Indoor Championships 0 0 0 Commonwealth Games 0 1 0 African Championships 2 0 0 Total 6 1 0 Olympic Games 2012 London 800 m 2016 Rio de Janeiro 800 m World Championships 2011 Daegu 800 m 2015 Beijing 800 m Commonwealth Games 2014 Glasgow 800 m African Championships 2008 Addis Ababa 800 m 2010 Nairobi 800 m

David Lekuta Rudisha, MBS (born 17 December 1988) is a Kenyan middle-distance runner. He is the 2012 and 2016 Olympic champion, World champion and world record holder in the 800 metres. Rudisha is the first and only person to ever run under 1:41 for the event, and he holds the three fastest, six of the eight fastest, and half of the twenty fastest times ever run in this event. Rudisha has won a record 3 consecutive Track & Field Athlete of the Year awards (tied with Carl Lewis), and also won the IAAF World Athlete of the Year award in 2010.

Born on 17 December 1988 in Kilgoris, Narok County, Rudisha went to Kimuron Secondary School in Iten, Keiyo District, which is known for nurturing several top runners including Wilson Kipketer, the previous 800 m world record holder, who had already held the record for several years before Rudisha joined the school. In April 2005 Japheth Kimutai recommended Rudisha to James Templeton, and Rudisha joined the group of runners managed by Templeton, which has at various time included Kimutai, Bernard Lagat and Augustine Choge. Initially he was a 400 metres runner, but his coach, Irishman Colm O'Connell, prompted him to try 800 m. In 2006 he became the world junior champion over that distance.