Rudisha sets new 800m record

Kenya’s David Lekuta Rudisha set a new world record of one minute 41.09 seconds in the 800 metres yesterday 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. Rudisha 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 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.

Semenya wins

In the day’s 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.

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 leading 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.