David Rudisha celebrating as he crosses the finish line to retain his 800m Olympic title. Photo Credit: rio2016.com

World Record (WR) holder in the men’s 800m, David Rudisha is aiming to become the first athlete ever to win three consecutive Olympic titles in the event, and is hoping to race his way into the history books at Tokyo 2020.

The 26-year old successfully defended his title from London 2012 in Rio this year, becoming only the second athlete in Track and Field history after Peter Snell (1960 and 1964) to accomplish this feat in the 800m.

Speaking ahead of the IAAF Athletics Awards in Monaco, the two-time World Champion said: “There’s still a lot to do. Usain Bolt has won consecutive triple gold at three consecutive Olympics. At 800 metres, nobody has won three consecutive Olympic titles. So that is a great motivation.

“I’m looking forward to 2020. I have a great feeling that if I stay injury-free, have good health and strong training I feel I’m still strong and good to go.”

Kenyan online platform www.nation.co.ke also quoted the 2010 IAAF World Athlete of the Year as saying: “I’ll be 31 years in 2020 and if I remain focused and concentrate I will be able to defend my title. At the Rio Olympics, I ran 1:42, almost 1:41 which is good.”

Rudisha is the first and only person to ever run under 1:41 for the event and he holds the three fastest times in the 800m. He was nominated for the 2016 IAAF World Male Athlete of the Year. However he didn’t make the final cut.

The finalists are multiple WR holder and Olympic and World Champion Usain Bolt; reigning World and Olympic Champion, as well as WR holder in the 400m, Wayde Van Niekerk, and four-time Olympic Champion Mo Farah.

The winner will be decided in Monaco on Friday, 2nd December.

SHARE
Yemi Galadima is a Senior Sportswriter and Editor at Making of Champions. She has a bias for Athletics and was previously a Sports Reporter at the National Mirror, where she hosted a weekly column ‘On the Track with Yemi Olus’ for over two years. A self-acclaimed ‘athletics junkie’, she has covered national and international events live, such as the African Athletics Championships, African Games, Olympics and World Athletics Championships. She also freelances for World Athletics.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here