Will David Rudisha see a repeat of his 2012 London Olympics feat with Emmanuel Wanyonyi's current form?

Will David Rudisha see a repeat of his 2012 London Olympics feat with Emmanuel Wanyonyi's current form?

Abigael Wafula 09:30 - 18.06.2024

David Rudisha has explained whether Emmanuel Wanyonyi can shatter the 800m world record at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games just like he did at the 2012 London Olympics.

World 800m record holder David Rudisha believes youngster Emmanuel Wanyonyi still has a long way to go when it comes to attacking his world record.

Wanyonyi ran a stunning 1:41.70, the third-fastest time in the world and the fastest time since Rudisha’s retirement to win the 800m at the National Olympic trials.

This took many Kenyans down memory lane to when Rudisha clocked 1:42.12 during the 2012 Olympics trials and went ahead to shatter the world record at the Olympic Games.

Asked whether Wanyonyi has the ability to shatter the world record at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Rudisha explained that the youngster is nicely coming up and there are certain things he needs to work on before thinking about the world record.

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“Well, you know Wanyonyi is upcoming and he is a young talent. He always shows his braveness and confidence and is the kind of an athlete that we are looking forward to seeing how he will shape the 800m.

“He is very talented and now he just needs to fine-tune and see how far he can push and improve on his time,” Rudisha said in an interview.

The two-time Olympic champion is also banking on Wanyonyi, the world 800m silver medallist, to deliver a medal for Kenya and hopefully retain the title.

He explained that if he maintains the tactic used at the Olympic trials, Wanyonyi will certainly bring something good back home.

“It was very special to watch him run 1:41.70 at home and we always say it’s another class and it’s good to see him running at this particular time and in this very important year. We know as a country, we have somebody who is going to make us proud at the Olympics.

“In any championship, anything can happen and sometimes it goes into tactics but if he can run like he did today, I’m quite sure that there are high chances of him winning a gold medal for Kenya,” Rudisha said.

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