<p>Ten years on, the men&rsquo;s 800m final at the London Olympics remains suspended in time as 1:40.91 of sheer athletic perfection and grace.</p>
<p>It might have been a decade ago but David Rudisha&rsquo;s run in the English capital&rsquo;s showpiece Olympic arena on the evening of Thursday 9 August 2012 is a timeless two-lap tour de force.</p>
<p>If you check out the Kenyan&rsquo;s gait as he strides majestically up the home straight, you will see the form not so much of a master of the middle distances, but of a natural sprinter pushing back the boundaries of high-speed endurance.</p>
<p>That, in essence, is what the 6ft 3in Maasai warrior accomplished as he claimed Olympic 800m gold in the style of Alberto Juantorena, setting new world record figures in the process.</p>
<p>In Montreal in 1976, Juantorena took 0.20 off Marcello Fiasconaro&rsquo;s world record as he galloped to victory in 1:43.50. The great Cuban was nicknamed El Caballo, the horse.</p>
<p>There was more than a touch of the thoroughbred about Rudisha&rsquo;s stunning display of sustained pace. He blitzed through 200m in 23.5, 400m in 49.28 and 600m in 1:40.91.</p>
<p>A herd of 50 cattle were slaughtered in his honour at his initiation ceremony as fully-fledged Maasai warrior in 2010. Two years on, the smooth-striding powerhouse of a Kenyan slaughtered both the opposition and his own world record.</p>
<h2>"Most extraordinary piece of running ever"</h2>
<p>Rudisha led from gun to tape and finished 0.18 clear of 18-year-old Botswanan Nijel Amos in 1:40:91. That was precisely 0.10 inside the global mark he set in Rieti in 2010.</p>
<p>His average speed per 200m section was 25.22.<br /><br /></p>
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/62f25feacc5b701f98f895c1.jpg" alt="David Rudisha next to his world 800m record figures at the London 2012 Olympic Games" />
<p style="font-size: 0.9em; color: #b2b2b2; text-align: right; margin: -15px 0 0px;">David Rudisha next to his world 800m record figures at the London 2012 Olympic Games (&copy; Getty Images)</p>
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<p>The 80,000 crowd watched in wonder. Up in the main stand, the chairman of the London 2012 organising committee, Sebastian Coe, was as awestricken as anyone. &ldquo;It was the most extraordinary piece of running I have ever seen,&rdquo; he said.</p>
<p>The future president of World Athletics was a two-time world record-holder for the two-lap distance. His best time was 1:41.73, which Amos matched with a world U20 record in second place.</p>
<p>&ldquo;That is one of the few races I watch back and I remember everything about it,&rdquo; the quietly-spoken, self-effacing Rudisha confided in a Kenyan television documentary. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s just as fresh as yesterday.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I ran the race exactly the way I planned, only a little faster. I wanted to run 1:41.00. When I saw 1:40-something on the clock, it was a little bit of a surprise.&rdquo;</p>
<h2>"Iconic race"</h2>
<p>Breathtaking as it was for the watching world to behold, the performance came as little surprise to the genial soul who was the chief architect of Rudisha&rsquo;s 2012 Olympic success &ndash; and those of countless other Kenyans on the international track and field stage.</p>
<p>As was his wont on the major occasions for his athletes, Brother Colm O&rsquo;Connell was far from the madding crowd of London. The Irish missionary watched the fastest 800m race in history on television, while leaning against the bar of the Kerio View Hotel on the edge of the Great Rift Valley in Iten.<br /><br /></p>
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/1c084208-8a04-4277-be8d-e25ddf90905f.jpg" alt="World record-holder David Rudisha with his coach, Colm O'Connell" />
<p style="font-size: 0.9em; color: #b2b2b2; text-align: right; margin: -15px 0 0px;">World record-holder David Rudisha with his coach, Colm O'Connell (&copy; Myra McSweeney)</p>
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<p>In keeping with his unassuming nature, Brother Colm likes his world-beating middle and long distance runners to get on with the business of winning their global titles without their coach getting in the way of the attendant fuss at major championships. He raised a quiet pint in celebration of Rudisha&rsquo;s awesome victory, the champagne moment of the track and field programme at London 2012.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t need to be in London to see David running in an iconic race,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;When my athletes develop and grow to become successful senior athletes, that&rsquo;s enough for me. They don&rsquo;t need me to be there with them at their major races.</p>
<p>&ldquo;David had everything in place when he went to London.&nbsp; He was a championship runner. He was world record-holder. He was prepared mentally.</p>
<p>&ldquo;He was on top form, on top of his game. He had everything he needed, and everything went well for him there.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Everything has gone rather well for Brother Colm since the day he arrived at St Pat&rsquo;s - St Patrick&rsquo;s High School, a boarding school for boys, 7,900 ft above sea level at Iten in Kenya&rsquo;s Rift Valley.</p>
<p>A geography teacher with no prior involvement in athletics, he learned the rudiments of middle and long distance training from the colleague he was being trained to succeed as PE coach: Pete Foster, brother of Brendan Foster.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I arrived in July 1976, the same week the Montreal Olympics opened,&rdquo; he recalled. &ldquo;We listened on Pete&rsquo;s beaten-up old radio to the BBC commentary of Brendan running in the 10,000m and winning a bronze medal.&rdquo;</p>
<h2>"OK, the genes are right"</h2>
<p>Rudisha became Brother Colm&rsquo;s sixth Olympic champion. His first was Peter Rono, who succeeded Coe as 1500m champion with his surprise victory in Seoul in 1988.</p>
<p>He first saw Rudisha run in in 2004, in a 200m race at the Rift Valley Provincial District Primary School Championships. &ldquo;Soon after, I saw this tall young Maasai boy running in another race and I invited him to a training camp,&rdquo; Brother Colm recalled.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I asked him what his name was and he said, 'David Rudisha'. I said, 'There&rsquo;s only one other Rudisha I&rsquo;ve ever heard of: Daniel Rudisha. Are you related to him?'</p>
<p>&ldquo;He said, &lsquo;Yeah, he&rsquo;s my father.&rsquo; I thought, &lsquo;OK, the genes are right&rsquo;.&rdquo;<br /><br /></p>
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/cfeb6b7c-bc68-4404-adb3-8b3d58f775e3.jpg" alt="Steve Cram, David Rudisha, Sebastian Coe and Alberto Juantorena at the IAAF Centenary Historic Exhibition" />
<p style="font-size: 0.9em; color: #b2b2b2; text-align: right; margin: -15px 0 0px;">Steve Cram, David Rudisha, Sebastian Coe and Alberto Juantorena at the Centenary Historic Exhibition (&copy; Giancarlo Colombo)</p>
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<p>Rudisha&rsquo;s father anchored the Kenyan 4x400m relay team to silver medals behind USA at the Mexico City Olympics in 1968.</p>
<p>&ldquo;David was big and strong for his age and he actually started as a decathlete,&rdquo; Brother Colm recalled. &ldquo;When I started coaching him, he&rsquo;d moved on to being a 200m/400m runner.</p>
<p>&nbsp;&ldquo;That first year he ran sprints and then, almost by chance at the end of a month&rsquo;s training with me in 2005, I said to him, &lsquo;I&rsquo;d just like to see you run 800m, just to see what you can do.&rsquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;He ran 1:49 on the track at St Pat&rsquo;s.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Just a year later, in August 2006, Rudisha won the 800m title at the World U20 Championships in Beijing in 1:47.40. In 2008 he ran 1:44.20 to win the African senior title in Addis Ababa.</p>
<p>Two years after that, on 22 August 2010, came his first world record. His 1:41.09 in Berlin eclipsed the 1997 mark of 1:41.11 held by another of Brother Colm&rsquo;s St Pat&rsquo;s proteges, the Kenyan-turned-Dane Wilson Kipketer.</p>
<p>Seven days later Rudisha improved his world record to 1.41.01 in Rieti, and twelve months later he won the world 800m title in Daegu.</p>
<h2>Successful title defence in Rio</h2>
<p>If 2012 was to be his annus mirabilis, there were three years of heartache and toil to endure before the 800m Olympic champion and world record-holder overcame a serious knee problem and regained his world title in Beijing in 2015.</p>
<p>The year after that, in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, he became the first man since the great flying Kiwi Peter Snell to retain the Olympic 800m title. Then, since a final flurry on the European circuit in 2017, has he not run since run due to injury, though he has yet to announce his official retirement. He is still the fastest 800m man in history, and perhaps the finest of all the golden boys to have emerged from Brother Colm O&rsquo;Connell&rsquo;s truly grounded school of champions.<br /><br /></p>
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/c358796f-8cab-4cea-9cb4-8eaa14d1671f.jpg" alt="David Rudisha at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games" />
<p style="font-size: 0.9em; color: #b2b2b2; text-align: right; margin: -15px 0 0px;">David Rudisha at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games (&copy; Getty Images)</p>
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<p>The long-time head coach of St Pat&rsquo;s chuckles at the mention of the Swedish scientist who brought him the gift of a heart rate monitor. &ldquo;Yeah, it&rsquo;s still in my drawer,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;I come from a background of not being very technical, of having very basic facilities. Like other traditional coaches, I like to keep it simple.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I think most of the Kenyan athletes will tell you that their approach is not very scientific - in terms of heart rate monitors and measuring blood and lactic acid, all these factors you have in the west. Coming from a poor background, science and facilities were never going to be big factors in their training or lifestyle.&rdquo;</p>
<p>There was, however, one piece of modern technology that Rudisha utilised to help him become the fastest two-lap runner in history. The one-time decathlete might have been cast in a similar mould to Juantorena but it was the featherweight Coe that he always strove to emulate.</p>
<p>&ldquo;If you see the way Sebastian Coe used to run, he was small, yes, but he was a really strong athlete,&rdquo; Rudisha said. &ldquo;I watched many videos of his races on YouTube and in his world records he was really strong, pushing in the last 200m all the way.</p>
<p>&ldquo;He became a good friend of mine. I went to London in February of 2012 and he took me around the Olympic Stadium.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I wanted to come back for the Games and make him proud.&rdquo;</p>
<p>When it came to the 800m final in London 10 years ago, the great Maasai warrior certainly did that.</p>
<p><strong>Simon Turnbull for World Athletics Heritage<br /><br /></strong></p>

Ten years on, the men’s 800m final at the London Olympics remains suspended in time as 1:40.91 of sheer athletic perfection and grace

Remembering Rudisha's 'gun to tape' world record run in London

<p>Two-time Olympic 800m champion David Rudisha underwent surgery in Eldoret, Kenya, today after sustaining a fracture in his ankle last week. The injury is expected to sideline the world record-holder for 12-16 weeks.</p>
<p>According to a statement issued by his management company, The surgery was carried out by Kenyan team doctor and orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Victor Bargoria. On Tuesday, 19 May, Rudisha twisted his left ankle at his rural home in Kilgoris,&nbsp;Narok County.</p>
<p>During a walk on the compound the 31-year-old stepped on uneven ground, and initially believed it was not a serious injury. He continued with exercises that wouldn&rsquo;t cause further harm to his ankle but after a lack of improvement over the weekend, he underwent an examination and was diagnosed with an ankle fracture at St. Luke&rsquo;s hospital in Eldoret.</p>
<p>According to Bargoria, Rudisha suffered a left ankle fracture (Supination External Rotation) which was fixated with a 1/3rd tubular plate and 3.5mm screws.</p>
<p>Rudisha, who is targeting a third Olympic appearance next year,&nbsp;last competed in July 2017 when he sustained a muscle pull in training ahead of that year's World Championships.</p>
<p><strong>World Athletics</strong></p>

Two-time Olympic 800m champion David Rudisha underwent surgery in Eldoret, Kenya, today after sustaining a fracture in his ankle last week.

Rudisha undergoes ankle surgery

<p><br />David Rudisha&rsquo;s 2012 Olympic 800m triumph has been chosen as the athletics moment of the decade.</p>
<p>Over the past two weeks, athletics fans from around the world have been casting their votes on the World Athletics Instagram page, whittling down a long list of 16 moments.</p>
<p>In the final stage of voting, Rudisha was up against Eliud Kipchoge&rsquo;s marathon world record from Berlin in 2018. The votes were close, but Rudisha ultimately had the edge, 1151 votes to Kipchoge&rsquo;s 939.</p>
<p>Rudisha&rsquo;s victory in London in 2012 was the greatest moment of the Kenyan&rsquo;s career. Leading up to those Games, he had twice broken the world record in 2010 and won the world title in 2011. He arrived in London undefeated throughout the 2012 season and with the four fastest times in the world that year. Unsurprisingly, he started as the overwhelming favourite.<br /><br /></p>
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<p><br />But few would have predicted that Rudisha would have been capable of breaking his own world record in a non-paced championship setting. One of the few people who perhaps had an inkling of what was to come was Kenyan teammate Timothy Kitum, whom Rudisha had told before the race: &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t follow me or you&rsquo;ll die towards the end. Go for the silver.&rdquo;</p>
<p>It turned out to be good advice as Rudisha was unchallenged. He passed through 200m in 23.4 and 400m in 49.28. He already had a two-metre lead as he entered the back straight for the second time and his advantage only grew as the race progressed, reaching 600m in 1:14.30.</p>
<p>Urged on by the 80,000 fans who were sensing a stunning moment in the making, the long-striding Rudisha maintained his lead to the finish, crossing the line in 1:40.91 and punching the air as he did so, a lifetime&rsquo;s ambition realised.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I have waited for this moment for a long time,&rdquo; said Rudisha. &ldquo;I had no doubt about winning, but to come here and get a world record is unbelievable.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>

David Rudisha’s 2012 Olympic 800m triumph has been chosen as the athletics moment of the decade.

Rudisha’s 800m world record in London voted athletics moment of the decade

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<p><strong>Plaque name: </strong>Iten - Home of Champions</p>
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<p><strong>Location: </strong>Iten , Kenya</p>
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<p><strong>Plaque awarded: </strong>10/05/2019</p>
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<p><strong>Reason: </strong>Plaque category - Landmark</p>
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<p>Iten, a town of 42,000 people in Elgeyo-Marakwet County of Kenya, is known as the &lsquo;Home of Champions&rsquo;. St. Patrick's High School is located in Iten and over the last 30 years has produced a long list of world-class long distance athletes. Alumni include Ibrahim Hussein, winner of three Boston Marathons and one New York City Marathon; Peter Rono, 1988 Olympic 1500m gold medallist, Wilson Boit Kipketer, 1997 World 3000m Steeplechase champion, Matthew Birir, 1992 Olympic 3000m Steeplechase champion and David Rudisha, 2012 Olympic 800m gold medallist and world record holder. Many athletes, including Rudisha, and World champions Edna Kiplagat, Florence Kiplagat, Lornah Kiplagat, Linet Masai, and Mary Keitany, have made homes in Iten.</p>
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Iten - Home of Champions | Heritage Plaque | World Athletics

Iten - Home of Champions

<p>Eight reigning Olympic champions will top the bill at the 56th edition of the Golden Spike in Ostrava on Wednesday (28), an event capped by Usain Bolt's second 100m outing of his final season.</p>
<p>The race will mark Bolt's fifth 100m appearance at this <strong>IAAF World Challenge</strong> meeting and ninth overall, serving as a good-bye from the triple double Olympic champion to the eastern Czech city that was among the first to welcome him when he joined the professional ranks well over a decade ago. For that, he said, he&rsquo;ll be forever grateful.</p>
<p>"It's the fans, they always come here. No matter how cold it is,&rdquo; Bolt said at a press conference in Ostrava today.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I have been to many meetings around the world and sometimes when the weather is really bad people do not show up. But every time I've been here, it was always a full stadium. And for me it really matters because it pushes me to do my best.&rdquo;</p>
<p>In his only appearance this year, Bolt ran 10.03 in Kingston in a stadium that was also full for the occasion. On Wednesday, the Golden Spike will witness its tenth straight sell-out crowd, with pleasant conditions expected.</p>
<p>Organisers are proud to note that when Bolt&rsquo;s ninth appearance on the Mestsky Stadium track concludes, the Golden Spike will become the meeting he has competed in most frequently in his career. To mark that occasion as well as his legendary career, a special celebration to honour Bolt will cap the evening.</p>
<p>The 100m field also includes Yunier Perez of Cuba and Jak Ali Harvey of Turkey who have clocked 10.10 and 10.15, respectively, this season.</p>
<h3>Van Neikerk targeting 300m world best</h3>
<p>Meanwhile, Olympic 400m champion and world record-holder Wayde van Niekerk, seen by many as the heir apparent to Bolt&rsquo;s throne as the sport&rsquo;s top star, will gauge his form over the rarely-run 300m distance a week after he lowered his 100m career best to 9.94.</p>
<p>That improved speed, combined with the 31.0 intermediate split he ran en route to his 43.03 400m world record in Rio, indicates that the world best of 30.85, set by Michael Johnson in Pretoria in 2000, is within the South African&rsquo;s capabilities. With a 31.03 to his credit from last year, van Niekerk is currently the third fastest ever over the distance, trailing Johnson and Bolt, who clocked 30.97 in Ostrava in 2013.</p>
<p>Czech star Pavel Maslak, the two-time world indoor and three-time European indoor 400m champion, will also be in the field gunning for a sub-32-second performance.</p>
<p>The men's 300m will honour Istvan Gyulai, the late General Secretary of the IAAF.</p>
<h3>Rudisha to debut over 1000m</h3>
<p>Champions from the Rio 2016 Olympic Games also figure prominently on the middle and long distance programme, among them two-time Olympic champion David Rudisha who will be making his career debut over 1000m.</p>
<p>Testing himself in off distances isn't anything new for Rudisha who last season in his run-up to a successful Olympic 800m title defence broke the African record over 600m at the Birmingham leg of the IAAF Diamond League, clocking 1:13.10.</p>
<p>But going up in distance is uncharted territory for the 28-year-old, who famously broke his own 800m world record in the 2012 Olympic final.</p>
<p>He hasn't disclosed any time targets, but a reasonable test of form would be an assault on the meeting record of 2:15.08 set by Ilham Tanui Ozbilen of Turkey in 2014, the fastest time that year over the rarely-run distance.</p>
<p>Kenyan Nicholas Kipkoech, who arrives with 1:43.37 and 2:16.68 credentials over 800m and 1000m from last year, and Ryan Gregson, this year's Australian 1500m champion, should prove Rudisha's primary challengers.</p>
<h3>Farah's last 10,000m hurrah on the one-day circuit</h3>
<p>Conversely, double-double world and Olympic champion Mo Farah will be covering familiar territory. In Ostrava, the Briton will embark on what will likely be the final 10,000m race of his career at a one-day meeting.</p>
<p>Farah, 34, clocked a world-leading 13:00.70 in the 5000m in Eugene one month ago, illustrating solid form in the run-up to his bid to defend his back-to-back world titles. But unlike van Niekerk and Rudisha, a meeting record is probably out of reach for the European record-holder. That belongs to Kenenisa Bekele, who set a 26:20.31 world record here in 2004, the last time the event appeared on the men's Ostrava programme.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, with opportunities running out in the chase for World Championships qualifying times, the pace and race is expected to be fast with about a dozen men chasing the IAAF World Championships London 2017 qualifying standard of 27:45.00. Closest to Farah on paper are Ethiopians Belay Tilahun Bezabeh and Leul Gebrselassie, with sub 27:20 lifetime bests.&nbsp;The world lead is 27:08.26 set by Ethiopia's Adabi Hadis in Hengelo.</p>
<p>In the steeplechase, the attention will fall on Conseslus Kipruto, who took last year's Olympic title four months before his 22nd birthday. He's expecting to target his own world lead of 8:04.63 from Rome's Golden Gala set nearly three weeks ago.</p>
<p>Another two-time Olympic champion in the spotlight is Christian Taylor, who&rsquo;s expected to dominate the triple jump. One month ago the US record holder threatened the world record in Eugene with an 18.11m leap.</p>
<p>Of the rest of the starters, only 21-year-old Andy Diaz, the latest star to emerge from the Cuban triple jump mill, has sailed beyond 17 metres, having reached 17.40m to take the national title in March.</p>
<h3>Wlodarczyk gunning for 37th straight victory&nbsp;</h3>
<p>The meeting gets underway on Tuesday evening with the hammer, once again fielding what has traditionally become one of the strongest competitions in the IAAF Hammer Throw Challenge.</p>
<p>On the women&rsquo;s side, the focus will clearly fall on world and Olympic champion Anita Wlodarczyk who is already threatening the 80-metre line. She debuted in Doha in May where she reached a season's best of 79.73m, has thrown beyond 77 metres on two other occasions, and brings a 36-meeting unbeaten streak to this eastern Czech city.</p>
<p>Closest at the moment &ndash; if within four metres can be characterised as 'close'&nbsp;&ndash; are Wang Zheng of China who threw 75.48m three weeks ago and Hanna Skydan of Azerbaijan, who improved to 75.29m in Baku last month.</p>
<p>The men's field features both Olympic champion, Dilshod Nazorov of Tajikistan and Poland's Pawel Fajdek, the world champion. Like Wlodarczyk, the Pole is already showing exemplary form, leading the world with 82.40m with five of his seven competitions &ndash; all wins&nbsp;&ndash; coming with 80-plus metre throws. The Olympic bronze medallist, Wojciech Nowicki, is also in town, riding a wave of four straight runner-up finishes.</p>
<h3>Germany vs Czech Republic in the men&rsquo;s javelin</h3>
<p>Germany's Olympic javelin champion Thomas Rohler will headline a unique Germany vs Czech Republic match in his specialty event, always among the most popular events in Ostrava.</p>
<p>Rohler, who opened his season with a mammoth 93.90m effort in Doha on 5 May, will lead a German quartet that includes Johannes Vetter, Andreas Hofmann and Lars Hamann against a Czech squad composed of 2016 Diamond Trophy winner Jakub Vadlejch, 2013 world champion Vitezslav Vesely, Jaroslav Jilek and Petr Frydrych.</p>
<p>The German team, which will be captained by 1972 Olympic champion Klaus Wolfermann, has exhibited extraordinary form and depth this season, with Vetter improving to 89.68m in Doha, Hoffman to 88.79m in Offenburg, and Hamann to 86.71m, also at the 13 May meeting in Offenburg.</p>
<p>On current form, the standout on the Czech squad, captained by throwing legend Jan Zelezny, is Vadlejch who improved his season&rsquo;s best to 87.95m when winning the at the European Team Championships last weekend defeating Rohler.</p>
<p>Each of the eight men will have six throws, with the best counting in the team tally. Frydrych will throw first and Rohler last.</p>
<p>In the shot put, five of the eight men who&rsquo;ll enter the circle have thrown beyond 21 metres this year, led by Czech Tomas Stanek whose 22.01m on 2 June was a lifetime best. He can expect a good battle from Poland's rapidly-improving Konrad Bukowiecki, this year's surprise European indoor champion, who's improved to 21.51m and Croatia's Stipe Zunic, who reached a 21.48m PB one month ago. Franck Elemba of Congo, who finished fourth in Rio, is also in the field.</p>
<h3>Alkana and Dutkiewicz favourites in sprint hurdles</h3>
<p>The programme includes the sprint hurdles events for both men and women. On the men's side the spotlight will rest firmly on South African Antonio Alkana who lowered the African record to 13.11 in Prague on 5 June. The African champion will take on Garfield Darien of France and Hungary's Balazs Baji.</p>
<p>On the women's side, Germany's Pamela Dutkiewicz is the class of the women's field, who'll arrive undefeated in six competitions outdoors this season. The 25-year-old improved to 12.61 in Weinheim one month ago and since took victories in Hengelo, Oslo and the European Team Championships on Sunday.</p>
<p>Elsewhere on the infield, neutral athletes Anzhelika Sidorova at 4.75m and Olga Mullina at 4.67m along with Alysha Newman of Canada at 4.71m top the field in the women's pole vault.</p>
<p>The field in the men's high jump includes four men who've topped 2.30m this year: Pole Sylwester Bednarek, Majd Eddin Ghazal of Syria, Tihomir Ivanov of Bulgaria and Mateusz Przybylko of Germany. Gianmarco Tamberi of Italy will also make his first high level appearance after injury sidelined him in the run-up to Rio.</p>
<p>The fastest in the women's 1500m field are Gudaf Tsegay of Ethiopia and Rabab Arrafi of Morocco, with 4:01.42 and 4:01.75 season's bests, respectively.</p>
<p>And in the 200m, Marie Josee Ta Lou of Cote D'Ivoire will be the woman to beat.</p>
<p><strong>Bob Ramsak for the IAAF</strong></p>

Eight reigning Olympic champions will top the bill at the 56th edition of the Golden Spike in Ostrava on Wednesday (28), an event capped by Usain Bolt's second 100m outing of his final season.

Bolt, joined by seven other Rio Olympic champions, returns to action in Ostrava

<p>World 800m record-holder David Rudisha is a double world and Olympic champion. Here the Kenyan reflects on his success at the IAAF World Championships Beijing 2015 after two years of injury struggles.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<hr />
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&ldquo;I have had many great moments in my sporting career, but I think the most satisfying was coming back and winning gold at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing because I had suffered so many injury setbacks in the two seasons before.</p>
<p>&ldquo;The London Olympics were great. I set a world record and a won the gold medal, but there was no doubt I was in great form that year, there was no doubt about that. If I had lost that year, they would have said, &lsquo;what is wrong with Rudisha?&rsquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;I had high expectations for the 2013 season but then in May I was told by a doctor to take six months&rsquo; rest because of a bruised bone in my right knee. I had already trained and I was in good form, so to be told I had to miss the season and I couldn&rsquo;t run for six months was tough. It was a difficult injury because it was sore to touch and massage could not help the problem. All I could do was rest.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Every time I tried to come back and train and apply pressure on the knee, I felt pain. I did my gym work and exercises and only returned to training again around March 2014. I started my season very late. Some people questioned why I was pushing myself in races when I was clearly not in my best form, but I knew I had to compete to get myself back to form.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Over time the injury has improved, although I am not over the problem completely. In 2015 I still felt the injury during training. Even last year before the Olympic Games in Rio after some 300 metres of a training session, I had to stop.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Before the 2015 World Championships, because I was not training as usual, I started to have doubts in my mind. It was a challenge and I had to fight to control my mind. Thankfully, I received great support from my family, friends, coach and manager.</p>
<p>&ldquo;The final in Beijing was a tactical race and not many believed I could win. I remember I hadn&rsquo;t won many races that season so to go on and win those championships it meant a lot to me.&rdquo;</p>
<p><strong>Steve Landells for the IAAF</strong></p>

World 800m record-holder David Rudisha is a double world and Olympic champion. Here the Kenyan reflects on his success at the IAAF World Championships Beijing 2015 after two years of injury struggles. 

That moment when… Rudisha struck gold in Beijing

<p>A dozen Olympic champions are set to face strong early season challenges as the 2017 <strong>IAAF Diamond League</strong> series continues in Shanghai on Saturday (13) evening.</p>
<p>A unique discus competition with the world&rsquo;s best men and women taking the spotlight in alternating rounds will be staged in Shanghai, part of the innovative format introduced by local organisers.</p>
<p>Two-time Olympic discus champion Sandra Perkovic will be looking forward to extend her winning streak at China&rsquo;s most prestigious one-day track and field competition. The 26-year-old Croatian took victories with national records in 2012 and 2016 respectively. Last year, she reached a meeting record of 70.88m to continue her dominance in Shanghai, a result that put her on top of the world list in 2016.</p>
<p>The consistent Perkovic has also proved her form in 2017 with a world lead of 70.23m achieved in February.</p>
<p>Melina Robert-Michon registered a French record of 66.73m to finish as the runner-up to Perkovic in Rio. This time the 38-year-old veteran is also aiming to upgrade the bronze medal she earned three years ago in the coastal Chinese city.</p>
<p>Cuba&rsquo;s world champion Denia Caballero is also a serious contender. Caballero grabbed the bronze medal in Rio, finished third in Shanghai last year at 66.14m and has a 70.65m PB set in 2015.</p>
<p>The field also includes Olympic fourth-place finisher Dani Stevens of Australia who was second last year and Germany&rsquo;s world bronze medallist Nadine Muller who is making her Shanghai debut.</p>
<p>A rematch from the top three finishers at last August&rsquo;s Olympic Games will also be witnessed on the men&rsquo;s side.</p>
<p>Germany&rsquo;s Christoph Harting, who bettered his PB to 68.37m when winning Olympic gold last year, will be facing Poland&rsquo;s Olympic silver medallist Piotr Malachowski, who is also the world champion and 2016 Diamond Trophy winner, as well as countryman Daniel Jasinski, who took the Olympic bronze at 67.05m.</p>
<p>In the women&rsquo;s shot put event, local star Gong Lijiao is aiming to collect her third title after victories in 2011 and 2015. The 28-year-old Chinese, who took the silver medal at the 2015 World Championships, is the only 20-metre shot putter in the field with a PB of 20.43m set last year.</p>
<p>Hungary&rsquo;s Anita Marton, the Olympic bronze medallist, could be the biggest threat to Gong. She has already displayed solid early season form with a world-leading mark of 19.63m set two weeks ago.</p>
<h3>Thompson vs Bowie in the 100m, Miller-Uibo headlines 400m</h3>
<p>Double Olympic champion Elaine Thompson will be the star attraction in the sprints. The 24-year-old Jamaican has already illustrated her sound form this season, clocking a wind-assisted 10.75 (+2.2m/s) in Kingston last month and out-racing world 200m champion Dafne Schippers to win the half-lap race in Doha last Friday.&nbsp;</p>
<p>It will be Thompson&rsquo;s first appearance in Shanghai where she&rsquo;ll face challenges from Olympic 200m silver medallist Tori Bowie of the USA and Olympic 100m and 200m finalist Michelle-Lee Ahye of Trinidad and Tobago.</p>
<p>Another Olympic gold medallist, Shaunae Miller-Uibo of The Bahamas, will take on Jamaica&rsquo;s Stephenie Ann McPherson in the women&rsquo;s 400m in her season&rsquo;s debut. Miller-Uibo clocked a winning time of 50.45 to beat McPherson by 0.53 last year in Shanghai, but the latter turned out to become the eventual Diamond Trophy winner of 2016.</p>
<p>The field also includes Jamaica&rsquo;s Novlene Williams-Mills, whose PB of 49.63 was set in the Shanghai Stadium back in 2006.&nbsp;</p>
<p>The men&rsquo;s 200m features three Olympic finalists including Britain&rsquo;s Adam Gemili, Churandy Martina of the Netherlands and USA&rsquo;s two-time world and 2008 Olympic 400m champion LaShawn Merritt, who ranked fourth, fifth and sixth respectively in Rio last year.</p>
<h3>Lavillenie takes on Braz and Barber</h3>
<p>French world record-holder Renaud Lavillenie, the only seven-time Diamond Trophy winner, will start his outdoor season in Shanghai and is definitely looking to retain the title he won in 2014 when he set the meeting record of 5.92m.</p>
<p>The 30-year-old pole vaulter will face a fierce challenge from Olympic champion Thiago Braz, who scored a stunning upset victory in front of jubilant local crowds en route to his 6.03m Olympic record, leaving Lavillenie to settle with the silver medal at 5.98m.&nbsp;</p>
<p>The star-studded field also includes world champion Shawn Barber from Canada, 2013 world champion Raphael Holzdeppe of Germany and Olympic bronze medallist Sam Kendricks of the US, who claimed the title in Shanghai at 5.88m last year. Chinese record-holder Xue Changrui is also in the field.</p>
<h3>Zhang and Drouin looking to halt Barshim&rsquo;s early season momentum</h3>
<p>Another local star, Zhang Guowei, will try to return to his best form in men&rsquo;s high jump. The 26-year-old set his PB of 2.38m in Eugene two years ago but was hampered by a hip muscle injury last year, failing to reach the Olympic final. He is struggling to find his form in the 2017 season so far and eager to prove his worth in front of his long-time rival Mutaz Essa&nbsp;Barshim.</p>
<p>The 26-year-old Qatari, on the contrary, is enjoying a flying start. History&rsquo;s second highest jumper at 2.43m, Barshim leaped 2.35m last month and went on to clear 2.36m to win in Doha last week, a mark that puts him on top of the world list.</p>
<p>World and Olympic champion Derek Drouin of Canada will compete for the first time in Shanghai. He will be the biggest threat to Barshim, who is eyeing a third title here after setting a stadium record of 2.38m in 2015 and claimed the title at 2.33m in 2013.</p>
<p>Olympic gold medalist Jeff Henderson will return to Shanghai for the third time and looking to notch his first victory. The 28-year-old from the USA will take on South Africa&rsquo;s Luvo Manyonga, who improved the African record twice this year to 8.65m, and China&rsquo;s Gong Xinglong, who won in Shanghai last year at 8.14m.</p>
<h3>Rudisha and Kipyegon top the middle distance fields</h3>
<p>The men&rsquo;s 800m race showcases world record-holder and world and Olympic champion David Rudisha. The 28-year-old Kenyan will be challenged by compatriot Ferguson Cheruiyot Rotich, last year&rsquo;s Diamond Trophy winner.</p>
<p>The women&rsquo;s 1500m field will be led by Kenya&rsquo;s Olympic gold medallist Faith Kipyegon, who set the meeting record of 3:56:82 last year, while the women&rsquo;s 5000m will feature a clash between Olympic silver medallist Hellen Obiri of Kenya and Ethiopia&rsquo;s world runner-up Senbere Teferi.</p>
<p>And finally, the women&rsquo;s 3000m steeplechase &ndash; not a point-scoring race in Shanghai&nbsp;&ndash; features a rematch of last weekend's scintillating contest between Bahrain&rsquo;s world record-holder and Olympic champion Ruth Jebet and Kenya's world champion Hyvin Kiyeng, who outkicked Jebet in the IAAF Diamond League opener in Doha.</p>
<p>As the Olympic champion and Diamond Trophy winner in the 400m hurdles, Kerron Clement is ready to bounce back from the disappointing seventh-place finish in Shanghai 12 month ago. The two-time world champion will take on Turkey&rsquo;s European champion Yasmani Copello, who took a sliver in Rio last year.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Kenya&rsquo;s Nicholas Bett is also a serious contender as the 27-year-old world champion is aiming to build up for retaining the world title at the forthcoming World Championships in London.</p>
<h3>McLeod, Merritt and Shubenko square off in the high hurdles</h3>
<p>As is tradition in Shanghai, the 110m hurdles will conclude the meeting and the organisers have assembled a field worthy of any global final.</p>
<p>Jamaica&rsquo;s Omar McLeod clocked a world lead of 12.98 to win in Shanghai last year before later snatching gold in Rio. He&rsquo;s shown good form in 2017 as the 23-year-old has already registered a world lead of 13.04 in Des Moines two weeks ago.</p>
<p>Last year&rsquo;s Diamond Trophy winner Orlando Ortega, who earned silver for Spain at the 2016 Olympic Games, is also poised for a positive start in his 2017 campaign. He will be joined on the starting line by world record-holder Aries Merritt of the US and 2013 world champion David Oliver, the 2015 Diamond League winner who won in Shanghai two years ago.</p>
<p>It will also be unwise to ignore world champion Sergey Shubenkov, who has a PB of 12.98 clocked in Beijing two years ago and is set to compete in his first international race since 2016.</p>
<p><strong>Vincent Wu for the IAAF</strong></p>

A dozen Olympic champions are set to face strong early season challenges as the 2017 IAAF Diamond League series continues in Shanghai on Saturday (13) evening.

A dozen Olympic champions set for early season challenges in Shanghai – IAAF Diamond League 

<p>Double Olympic champion David Rudisha is one of four Kenyan track stars set to take centre stage at the Shanghai Diamond League meeting on Saturday (13) when many of the world&rsquo;s greatest athletes will be in pursuit of early season <strong>IAAF Diamond League</strong> points.</p>
<p>Rudisha was fifth on his Shanghai debut 12 months ago and the 800m world record-holder is relishing the chance to make amends as he takes on fellow Kenyan Olympic finalists Ferguson Cheruiyot and Alfred Kipketer, plus Polish pair Adam Kszczot and Marcin Lewandowski.</p>
<p>While Rudisha finished out of the points 12 months ago, compatriot Faith Kipyegon broke the Kenyan record to win the women&rsquo;s 1500m and went on to win Olympic gold in Rio. On Saturday Kipyegon will face Olympic finalists Dawit Seyaum and Besu Sado of Ethiopia.</p>
<p>Two other top-class Kenyans lead the fields for the women&rsquo;s 5000m and 3000m steeplechase.</p>
<p>Hellen Obiri moved up from 1500m last year to take the Olympic 5000m silver medal in Rio. On Saturday she will face Senbere Teferi and Sofia Assefa, who will be seeking to make their mark in the first women&rsquo;s 5000m of the IAAF Diamond League season.</p>
<p>Teferi was third in this race in 2015 and fifth in the Olympic final last year, while 2012 Olympic steeplechase silver medallist Assefa will be running her first 5000m race for 10 years.</p>
<p>The 3000m steeplechase isn&rsquo;t weakened by Assefa&rsquo;s absence as it features Kenya&rsquo;s world champion Hyvin Kiyeng against Bahrain&rsquo;s Olympic champion and world record-holder Ruth Jebet.</p>
<p>Jebet eclipsed her own Asian record to win Olympic gold in Rio and went on to run nearly seven seconds quicker in Paris two weeks later when she destroyed the world record with a time of 8:52.78.</p>
<p>But it was Kiyeng who came out on top in their first clash of 2017 when she ran the fastest time in the world this year to win in Doha last Friday. Kiyeng was more than a second and a half ahead of the rest in 9:00:12 while Jebet was third.</p>
<p>Celliphine Chespol will also come to Shanghai full of confidence after she equalled the world U20 record in Doha. The 18-year-old world U20 champion was fourth in 9:05:70, and should finish higher than her seventh place in the Shanghai meeting last year.</p>
<p><strong>Organisers for the IAAF</strong></p>
<p><strong>2017 IAAF Diamond League calendar:</strong><br />5 May &ndash; Doha, QAT<br />13 May &ndash; Shanghai, CHN<br />27 May &ndash; Eugene, USA<br />8 Jun &ndash; Rome, ITA<br />15 Jun &ndash; Oslo, NOR<br />18 Jun &ndash; Stockholm, SWE<br />1 Jul &ndash; Paris, FRA<br />6 Jul &ndash; Lausanne, SUI<br />9 Jul &ndash; London, GBR<br />16 Jul &ndash; Rabat, MAR<br />21 Jul &ndash; Monaco, MON<br />20 Aug &ndash; Birmingham, GBR<br />24 Aug &ndash; Zurich, SUI<br />1 Sep &ndash; Brussels, BEL</p>

Double Olympic champion David Rudisha is one of four Kenyan track stars set to take centre stage at the Shanghai Diamond League meeting on Saturday (13) when many of the world’s greatest athletes will be in pursuit of early season IAAF Diamond League points.

Rudisha returns as distance stars gather in Shanghai – IAAF Diamond League

<p>Organisers of the Golden Spike have announced that two-time Olympic 800m champion David Rudisha will make his 1000m debut at the <strong>IAAF World Challenge</strong> meeting in Ostrava, Czech Republic, on 28 June.</p>
<p>"I'm really looking forward to my race in Ostrava," Rudisha said. "It will be my third race of the season but most interestingly for me it's my first time to run 1000 metres!"</p>
<p>Testing himself in off distances isn't anything new for Rudisha who last season in his run-up to a successful Olympic 800m title defence, broke the African record over 600m at the Birmingham leg of the IAAF Diamond League, clocking 1:13.10.</p>
<p>But going up in distance is uncharted territory for the 28-year-old, who famously broke his own 800m world record in the 2012 Olympic final.</p>
<p>"I'm excited to try this race. People are always asking me how would I run at 1500. I always say that's too far to run against the miler guys! But 1000m is of course shorter and closer to my racing distance.</p>
<p>"I've got no time or plan in mind but I'm excited to test myself and see what I can do," added Rudisha, who will be competing in the Czech city for the fifth time.</p>
<p>One publicly unstated goal could be the meeting record of 2:15.08 set by Ilham Tanui Ozbilen of Turkey in 2014, the fastest time that year over the rarely-run distance.</p>
<p>Rudisha is the latest Olympic champion announced for the meeting's 56th edition. Previously announced were 400m world record holder and Rio winner Wayde van Niekerk of South Africa who'll contest the 300m, double world and Olympic champion Mo Farah of Great Britain, who'll compete in the 10,000m, Thomas Rohler of Germany, who'll contest the javelin, and Christian Taylor of the US in the triple jump.</p>
<p><strong>Bob Ramsak and organisers for the IAAF</strong></p>

Organisers of the Golden Spike have announced that two-time Olympic 800m champion David Rudisha will make his 1000m debut at the IAAF World Challenge meeting in Ostrava, Czech Republic, on 28 June.

Rudisha to make 1000m debut in Ostrava

<p>No fewer than 13 Olympic champions are among the galaxy of international track and field stars announced today for the 2017 Shanghai Diamond League on 13 May, the second stop on the <strong>IAAF Diamond League</strong> circuit.</p>
<p>The stellar line-up also includes four gold medallists from the IAAF World Championships Beijing 2015 and nine Diamond Race winners from 2016, plus an array of last year&rsquo;s world-leading performers.</p>
<p>One of those is sprint hurdler Omar McLeod who produced the world&rsquo;s fastest time of the season to win the Shanghai meeting&rsquo;s traditional closing event, the men&rsquo;s 110m hurdles.</p>
<p>The newly-crowned world indoor champion left two world champions and the world record-holder in his wake as he clocked 12.98 to grab the headlines. He went on to win Olympic gold in Rio and will be looking to show similar early season form in Shanghai this May as he gears up for a tilt at the world title in London.</p>
<p>The 22-year-old Jamaican will have to be at his best on 13 May, however, as he faces Spain&rsquo;s Orlando Ortega, the Olympic silver medallist who went on to win the Diamond Race trophy with late-season victories in Lausanne and Brussels. The Spaniard will be looking to make amends in 2017 after being disqualified for a false start in Shanghai last year.</p>
<p>The men&rsquo;s 110m hurdles always attracts huge interest, but it is far from the only highlight in what promises to be a meeting full of top class performances as the world&rsquo;s leading athletes begin the long build-up to August&rsquo;s IAAF World Championships London 2017.</p>
<p>David Rudisha is one of four world champions in Shanghai who will be looking for some early pointers just three months ahead of his world title defence. The 800m world record-holder made his Shanghai Diamond League debut last May and went on to retain the Olympic title in Rio.</p>
<p>The women&rsquo;s 100m showcases Jamaica&rsquo;s double Olympic sprint champion Elaine Thompson, who will be making her first appearance in Shanghai.</p>
<p>Another Olympic gold medallist, Shaunae Miller of The Bahamas, takes on last season&rsquo;s Diamond Race winner Stephenie Ann McPherson of Jamaica in the 400m.</p>
<p>A further trio of Olympic champions will grace the women&rsquo;s distance events: 1500m gold medallist Faith Kipyegon, who broke the Kenyan and meeting record in Shanghai last May; Almaz Ayana, who smashed the 5000m meeting record two years ago when she clocked the third fastest time ever; and steeplechase world record-holder Ruth Jebet.</p>
<p>Ayana won the world 5000m title in Beijing and last summer added Olympic 10,000m gold when she smashed the world record in Rio, while Jebet claimed Olympic gold in Brazil and broke the world record in Paris.</p>
<p>Olympic champion Kerron Clement begins his campaign to retain the Diamond Race 400m hurdles trophy, while reigning Diamond Race champion Alonso Edward tops a 200m field that includes Chinese record-holder and world 4x100m silver medallist Xie Zhenye.</p>
<p>The men&rsquo;s field events also feature some intriguing match-ups. The pole vault pitches Olympic champion Thiago Braz against world record-holder Renaud Lavillenie, while Canada&rsquo;s world and Olympic champion Derek Drouin takes on China&rsquo;s world silver medallist Zhang Guowei in the high jump.</p>
<p>Olympic gold medallist Christoph Harting will make his Shanghai debut in the discus against world champion and Olympic silver medallist Piotr Malachowski, while another Olympic champion, USA&rsquo;s Jeff Henderson, leads the long jump field.</p>
<p>Croatia&rsquo;s double Olympic discus champion Sandra Perkovic will be seeking her fourth victory at the Shanghai Stadium, while China&rsquo;s Gong Lijiao will hope to reproduce the crowd-pleasing form that saw her defeat a world-class field to win the shot put contest two years ago.</p>
<p><strong>Organisers for the IAAF</strong></p>
<p><strong>2017 IAAF Diamond League calendar<br /></strong>5 May &ndash; Doha, QAT<br />13 May &ndash; Shanghai, CHN<br />27 May &ndash; Eugene, USA<br />8 Jun &ndash; Rome, ITA<br />15 Jun &ndash; Oslo, NOR<br />18 Jun &ndash; Stockholm, SWE<br />1 Jul &ndash; Paris, FRA<br />6 Jul &ndash; Lausanne, SUI<br />9 Jul &ndash; London, GBR<br />16 Jul &ndash; Rabat, MAR<br />21 Jul &ndash; Monaco, MON<br />20 Aug &ndash; Birmingham, GBR<br />24 Aug &ndash; Zurich, SUI<br />1 Sep &ndash; Brussels, BEL</p>

No fewer than 13 Olympic champions are among the galaxy of international track and field stars announced today for the 2017 Shanghai Diamond League on 13 May, the second stop on the IAAF Diamond League circuit.

Olympic stars to shine in Shanghai – IAAF Diamond League

<p>A constellation of global athletics stars will be present to pay homage to Usain Bolt as he runs his last race on Jamaican soil during the second staging of the JN-Racers Grand Prix at the National Stadium in Kingston on Saturday 10 June.</p>
<p>At a press conference on Friday, Bolt&rsquo;s coach Glen Mills explained that Bolt had been the flag-bearer for the Racers Track Club for the past decade, and that it was only fitting that he be honoured by the club before he takes his leave from competitive athletics.</p>
<p>&ldquo;It will be my last competition on home soil,&rdquo; said Bolt, whose first international success came in Kingston at the 2002 IAAF World Junior Championships. &ldquo;I might shed a tear even though I'm not an emotional person as I close out where it started on Jamaican soil.&rdquo;</p>
<p>The meeting &ndash; dubbed &lsquo;Salute to a Legend&rsquo; &ndash; will feature appearances of three world record-holders, four Olympic champions and six world champions, in addition, of course, to Usain Bolt himself.</p>
<p>World 400m record-holder Wayde van Niekerk &ndash; who last year set an African 300m record at the Racers Grand Prix &ndash; will be back in Kingston for this year&rsquo;s meeting. Fellow world and Olympic champions David Rudisha, Mo Farah and Christian Taylor will join him.</p>
<p>Other athletes set to compete in the men&rsquo;s sprint events at the meeting include 2011 world 100m champion Yohan Blake, former world 100m record-holder Asafa Powell, world leader Akani Simbine, world 100m bronze medallist Trayvon Bromell, Commonwealth 100m champion Kemar Bailey-Cole, 2012 Olympic 200m bronze medallist Warren Weir, 2005 world 100m silver medallist Michael Frater, world 200m finalist Zharnel Hughes, world 110m hurdles silver medallist Hansle Parchment, two-time world 400m hurdles silver medallist Javier Culson, world U20 400m hurdles champion Jaheel Hyde, Olympic 400m hurdles finalist Annsert Whyte and Jamaican 400m champion Javon Francis.</p>
<p>The line-up for the women&rsquo;s events includes Olympic 100m silver medallist Tori Bowie, Olympic 400m hurdles champion Dalilah Muhammad, world 100m hurdles champion Danielle Williams, 2013 world long jump silver medallist Blessing Okagbare, 2014 world indoor 400m champion Francena McCorory, Commonwealth 400m hurdles champion Kaliese Spencer, Olympic 400m hurdles finalist Ristananna Tracey, 2015 US 200m champion Jenna Prandini, World Indoor Tour 60m winner Gayon Evans, world U20 400m champion Tiffany James and 2011 world 4x100m silver medallist Jura Levy.</p>
<p><strong>Organisers for the IAAF</strong></p>

A constellation of global athletics stars will be present to pay homage to Usain Bolt as he runs his last race on Jamaican soil during the second staging of the JN-Racers Grand Prix at the National Stadium in Kingston on Saturday 10 June.

World stars to salute Bolt at Jamaican ‘farewell’ meeting

<p>In the ninth part of our 2016 end-of-year reviews, statisticians A Lennart Julin and Mirko Jalava look back on the best middle-distance performances of the year.</p>
<h3>Men&rsquo;s 800m</h3>
<p>After winning the 2012 Olympic title in a world record of 1:40:91, things didn&rsquo;t quite go to plan for David Rudisha.</p>
<p>The Kenyan missed the IAAF World Championships Moscow 2013 and was beaten at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. He did, however, make a victorious return at the IAAF World Championships Beijing 2015.</p>
<p>The 2016 season wasn&rsquo;t easy, but Rudisha was focused on retaining his Olympic title. Having finished fifth at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Shanghai in May and fourth in Stockholm in June, Rudisha won his first big meeting of the summer in Szekesfehervar in June in a world-leading 1:43.35.</p>
<p>In Rio he had no problems progressing to the final. After a convincing run in the semifinal, few doubts remained about the world record-holder&rsquo;s form.</p>
<p>Rudisha won another fast Olympic final, running 1:42.15 &ndash; the fastest time in the world since his London triumph four years prior. Morocco&rsquo;s 2012 Olympic 1500m champion Taoufik Makhloufi bagged his first major 800m medal, clocking a 1:42.61 national record for the silver.</p>
<p>While US duo Duane Solomon and Nick Symmonds ran sub-1:43 PBs in 2012 and missed out on a medal, this time the USA made it on to the podium as 21-year-old Clayton Murphy ran a 1:42.93 PB to take a surprise bronze. The NCAA outdoor 1500m and indoor 800m champion had a best of just 1:44.76 before Rio.</p>
<h3>Men&rsquo;s 1500m</h3>
<p>Asbel Kiprop was the No.1 1500m runner during the early season. The three-time world champion and 2008 Olympic champion clocked a world-leading 3:29.33 in Birmingham in June and was the favourite for the Olympic title.</p>
<p>The Olympic final, however, was run at a pedestrian pace which opened up possibilities for other runners.</p>
<p>Taoufik Makhloufi, the reigning champion from 2012, had already earned a silver medal in the 800m and it was clear he was going to be strong in a slow race. But it was a different type of race to the 2012 final, where Makhloufi clocked 3:34.08 for the win.</p>
<p>Instead, USA&rsquo;s Matthew Centrowitz dictated the pace from the outset. The 27-year-old had narrowly missed out on a medal in 2012 when he finished fourth, just 0.04 behind bronze medallist Abdalaati Iguider. Most observers expected Kiprop to kick his way to gold in the final straight, but Centrowitz held on to his lead and won in 3:50.00.</p>
<p>Makhloufi took the silver this time in 3:50.11 and Nick Willis was not far behind, clocking 3:50.24 for the bronze, eight years after taking the silver medal. Djibouti&rsquo;s Ayanleh Souleiman was fourth in 3:50.29, Iguider fifth in 3:50.58 and Kiprop faded to sixth in 3:50.87.</p>
<h3>Women&rsquo;s 800m</h3>
<p>The 800m is usually a fiercely competitive event where wins and losses are traded during the season. But this year the top order was carved in rock.</p>
<p>Caster Semenya won all of her races, including the Olympics and five IAAF Diamond League races. Francine Niyonsaba lost only to Semenya (six times) and won the remaining two IAAF Diamond League events, while Margaret Wambui finished behind only Semenya and Niyonsaba (three times).</p>
<p>After several years of mixed success, Semenya was simply a class apart this summer. Content to follow the leader in the early part of her races, she seemed to be able to leave the opposition whenever deciding to do so in the closing stages.</p>
<p>This season also marked the return of Niyonsaba. She burst on to the international scene in 2012 when she ran 1:56.59 at the age of 19, but after an injury in early 2013 she had been missing on the world stage for almost three years.</p>
<p>Behind Semenya, Niyonsaba and Wambui, the fortunes shifted continuously and no fewer than 14 different athletes achieved top-six finishes across the seven IAAF Diamond League races. Joanna Jozwik, for example, finished no higher than eighth in her first three IAAF Diamond League races of 2016, but she finished off her season with a fifth-place finish in Rio and a fourth-place finish at the IAAF Diamond League final in Zurich.</p>
<h3>Women&rsquo;s 1500m</h3>
<p>Genzebe Dibaba was invincible last year, but injury problems at the start of the 2016 summer meant that she went to Rio having run just one race, a solo 3:59.83.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, world silver medallist Faith Kipyegon had a perfect preparation for the Olympics, comfortably winning three IAAF Diamond League races &ndash; two of them sub-3:57 &ndash; plus the Kenyan trials.</p>
<p>Although Dibaba adopted similar tactics to those she had employed at the World Championships one year prior, Kipyegon maintained her supremacy in Rio. Dibaba upped the pace with two laps remaining, but was unable to shake off Kipyegon. The Kenyan took the lead with 200 metres remaining and, having covered the final 800m in 1:57.2, went on to win by 1.35 seconds in 4:08.92. A tiring Dibaba almost lost the silver to fast-finishing Jenny Simpson.</p>
<p>Laura Muir was the main victim of Dibaba&rsquo;s brutal gear change, dropping from third to seventh during the course of the final 200 metres. At the IAAF Diamond League meeting in London three weeks prior, Muir &ndash; who thrives off a fast, even pace &ndash; had impressed with a 3:57.49 British record, winning by more than three seconds.</p>
<p>At the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Paris, just 11 days after the Olympic final, Muir&rsquo;s gutsy approach was richly rewarded as she handed Kipyegon her first defeat of 2016, winning by one-and-a-half seconds in a world-leading 3:55.22. Aside from Dibaba&rsquo;s world record, it was the fastest time in the world for almost 20 years.</p>
<p>Muir managed another sub-3:58 clocking &ndash; and once again defeated Kipyegon &ndash; at the IAAF Diamond League final in Zurich just five days later, but was beaten in a close finish by Shannon Rowbury.</p>
<p><strong>Mirko Jalava (men&rsquo;s events) and A Lennart Julin (women&rsquo;s events) for the IAAF</strong></p>

In the ninth part of our 2016 end-of-year reviews, statisticians A Lennart Julin and Mirko Jalava look back on the best middle-distance performances of the year.