Kenyan track star David Rudisha is aiming to add Olympic gold to his world 800m title from Daegu, with three Diamond League outings likely before the London Games, starting in Doha next month.

“I feel good and my preparations are going well,” said the 23-year-old, who twice lowered the world record in the two-lap event for a best of 1min 41.01sec in 2010.

Rudisha is also seeking to bag a third consecutive Diamond Trophy after starring on the Diamond League circuit over the last two seasons, and says running at such a high level of competition was essential for him ahead of the Olympics.

“It is a great thing to win the Diamond League since it shows your persistence to compete throughout a season,” he said in an IAAF conference call yesterday.

“Racing in the Diamond League is part of my preparations this year, just like in the other years; racing in the Diamond League was part of my preparations for breaking the world record (in 2010) and for the World Championships last year.”

Heartbreak

Rudisha suffered the heartbreak of not making the 2008 Beijing Olympics after picking up an injury and acknowledged that he still had to negotiate the notoriously tough Kenyan Olympic trials to get a ticket to London.

“This will be my first Olympic Games although of course I still have to get through the Kenyan trials.

“I have always been having that dream that I can go to the Olympics and I have the dream of hearing the Kenyan national anthem as I stand on the podium.

“It would be a great feeling because winning at the Olympics is no small achievement. It’s what I have always wished for.”

Turning his sights to potential rivals this season, Rudisha admitted that “there will be a lot of good guys, many Kenyans”.

“I also know (Sudan’s) Abubaker Kaki will be there but I don’t know if he will run the 800m or 1,500m. However, I don’t think about one particular person or another. I train to be ready to handle any situation.”