¶2012 OG: m800–David Rudisha 1:40.91 WR !!!

[beasleye]

I watched the race live on BBC One and the commentators made it known that this 800 was truly epic. And after the race, paraphrasing Michael Johnson, he indicated the sport fails to promote itself or its heroic performances outside of Bolt or sprinters. And as I watch NBC's prime time broadcast the way the race was called on the BBC and the way Tom Hammond called it was a major contrast with NBC not even acknowledging the great performances from all the entire field. There was no mention of the two Americans running sub 1:43 or the fact that two teenagers ran faster than the American and Olympic records and from places 1 - 8 were the best marks ever for place.

I called my wife at work and told her she'd see something special and not just from Bolt tonight. But the call by NBC and Tom Hammond didn't make her fully aware of how truly special Rudisha and the field were in the final.

Bolt is truly great, but today's 800 should be the above tomorrow's cutline - not below it.

[rsb2]

I don't know why anyone is getting all excited about Rudisha, or Bolt for that matter. Yes, they are great, champions, world record-holders, etc.... but then, by definition, everyone they beat are mere journeymen. So, what's the big deal about beating journeymen - seems sort of average and every day to me ! You know, there is only one non-journeyman allowed per event, right ? No wonder our sport is do damned boring !

[zidan]

I watched the race live on BBC One and the commentators made it known that this 800 was truly epic. And after the race, paraphrasing Michael Johnson, he indicated the sport fails to promote itself or its heroic performances outside of Bolt or sprinters. And as I watch NBC's prime time broadcast the way the race was called on the BBC and the way Tom Hammond called it was a major contrast with NBC not even acknowledging the great performances from all the entire field. There was no mention of the two Americans running sub 1:43 or the fact that two teenagers ran faster than the American and Olympic records and from places 1 - 8 were the best marks ever for place.

I called my wife at work and told her she'd see something special and not just from Bolt tonight. But the call by NBC and Tom Hammond didn't make her fully aware of how truly special Rudisha and the field were in the final.

Bolt is truly great, but today's 800 should be the above tomorrow's cutline - not below it.

Truth to be told, maybe they should not have the 800m final on the same night as the 200m. Bolt is evidently the major showpiece of the sports (even when he runs 10.04 ) so he was always going to overshadow anyone else. It's unfair to Rudisha to have set a world record and play second fiddle. Dont do it again Mr. IOC.

[Gebrucilassie]

From another thread

Rudisha CAN go out in 49.4
pass the 600 in 1:14.6
and gut out a last 200 in 26.2
49.4/51.4 = 1:40.8

Actual splits

400 - 49.28
600 - 1:14.3
last 200 - 26.6

49.28/51.63

If ONLY he had listened to me, he coulda taken another tenth off!

Now, now Marlow bragging doesn't become you

[t_monk]

Still... I say this is the best race in terms of sheer quality I have ever seen....

[dbirds]

My thoughts

1. Don't hate on beach volleyball - its a fun and athletic sport. Much better than most they show
Like diving!

2. Rudisha is amazing!

3. Would love to see him bolt at any distance

4. Tv coverage does suck. Someone needs to do a study on % of coverage devoted to track
Over the years - I bet it's down

5. I still think bolts 9.58 is a little better. It's .11 better than next guy. I think that's a higher % than Rudisha over kipketer.

[DrJay]

Diamond League 800s coming up in Stockholm (Aug 17) and Zurich (Aug 30).

[jazzcyclist]

Truth to be told, maybe they should not have the 800m final on the same night as the 200m. Bolt is evidently the major showpiece of the sports (even when he runs 10.04 ) so he was always going to overshadow anyone else. It's unfair to Rudisha to have set a world record and play second fiddle. Dont do it again Mr. IOC.

I agree with you but remember that NBC is the tail wagging the IOC dog. Do you remember when the swimming finals were moved to morning so that American viewers could see them in primetime? And what about the recent schedule change that has track closing out with the 4x100 instead of the 4x400? The IOC caters to NBC and NBC caters to Joe Sixpack.

[jazzcyclist]

Diamond League 800s coming up in Stockholm (Aug 17) and Zurich (Aug 30).

I thought about the DL, but then how is Rudisha ever going to find a rabbit as good as himself? Think about it, the reason that all those PR's were set today is because you had an elite field chasing a rabbit that is of a much better quality than the rabbits they'll ever face on the DL circuit.

[Grazerism]

David Rudisha is Babe Ruth! Watch him point!

[110hedgeNYC]

that 800 was breathtaking. beautiful, staggering race.

Rudisha is on another planet. the guy is one of the most fluid, graceful and elegant athletes I have ever seen.

I agree with folks that NBC underplayed this race. Not surprising, as the NBC prime time coverage is beyond horrible. It's vomit worthy.

One thing that really stands out about the NBC coverage this time: it's so rigidly focused on celebrity that it undermines the viewer's grasp of the chosen celebrity's stature and magnitude of accomplishment. This is a disgusting tendency, and it actually makes for less interesting viewing. NBC has got this wrong.

It also ends up being rudely unpatriotic. NBC completely dissed and nearly ignored the fantastic performances by Soloman and Symmonds. The made the damned final, placed 4 and 5, and both ran lifetime bests. NBC should have shown respect of our own athletes!! The BBC shows respect for UK athletes and interviews them even if they get last in a race. This is so much more engaging, patriotic without being jingoistic, and better for the sport.

Anyway, awesome race and congratulations to Soloman and Symmonds.

[26mi235]

5. I still think bolts 9.58 is a little better. It's .11 better than next guy. I think that's a higher % than Rudisha over kipketer.

This was not run in a time-trial race, it was run in a championship race with no pacers and with severe consequences for getting it wrong. Wilson Kipketer was denied the full opportunity to race in the OGs by rules and then circumstances (malaria) but I doubt he would have hit 1:41 in an OG Final.


I do have a quibble about the comment about has anyone made winning Gold more effortless. Bolt's Beijing 'look around' race fits that category to a t.

[bman]

Race of the Century

[Powell]

Best marks ever for places 1-8

And there's currently no other event where the best marks for each of the top 8 places come from one competition, so this is a pretty unique achievement.

[croflash]

Half a day later and I'm still amazed and in awe. Fans of this sport are going to be talking about this race for a long time to come. Without a doubt THE moment of the Olympics to me.

[olorin]

Understatement of the day: best half mile race I have ever seen and without rabbits !

One correction - there was a rabbit only he forgot to stop and broke the WR

[nevetsllim]

I had goosebumps when the time came up. I wasn't expecting a world record and I thought he was going to zip around in 1:42.5 and try and break the WR after the Games finished. I wasn't really taking too much notice of the split times and the fact Amos was so close didn't suggest he was on WR pace, nor were the ES commentators getting that excited. In light of this, I was speechless when the clock stopped!

Diamond League 800s coming up in Stockholm (Aug 17) and Zurich (Aug 30).

And perhaps Rieti, too?

[EPelle]

There were a number of firsts and other obscure facts about this race:

• Rudisha became the first man/Kenyan/African under 1.41,00
• This was the first race where two Africans had broken 1.42
• This was the first race where two Americans had broken 1.43
• This was Rudisha's smallest margin of victory in a world record race
• This race saw Rudisha become the fourth Kenyan 800m Olympic champion
• This was a British all-comer's record
• This was the fastest anyone had run in the Olympic final
• This was the fastest anyone had run from start to finish without a pacer
• This was the first time a former 1.41-record holder had the WR run faster on his home soil
• This was the fastest 800m time ever run in August
• This was the fastest 800m time ever run on a Thursday
• This was the first time a junior had run 1.41
• This was the 11th time in history a Kenyan has run a 1.42 in a race and not won
• This race had Amos skip 1.42 on his way to 1.41
• This race saw Amos with the greatest improvement over his pre-season PB
• This was the first time two world junior champions had run 1.41 or faster in the same race
• This was the fastest a world junior champion had ever run
• This was the fastest a world youth champion had ever run
• This was the second Olympic 800m final won by a David/Dave, third won by an athlete whose name begins with "D"
• This was the second time Rudisha reduced the WR by 0,10s.
• This race had Rudisha add Olympic gold to his WJ and WC titles
• Good things came in pairs in this race: in addition to the two sub-1.42 and two USA sub-1.43, there were pairs of contestants whose names began with "A", "D" and "N", respectively

[ATK]

There were a number of firsts and other obscure facts about this race:

• This race had Amos skip 1.42 on his way to 1.41

This stood out as being pretty amazing!

[EPelle]

Rudisha's top-10 lifetime bests now average 1.41,53.

[Powell]

This was the first race where two Africans had broken 1.42

It was the first race where two men broke 1:42, full stop.

[lionelp1]

what sells for nbc

gymnastics, swimming and womens soccer

the sweep though was imprressive

You missed the all-important (to NBC) beach volleyball, which is taking most of prime time.

If I never see another beach volleyball game again it'll be too soon. I don't care what the women wear...or rather....don't wear.

Oh, god I am so with you on the beach VB. CTV does not show nearly as much but still too much.

Why do the fans of track and field go on about NBC who are merely a cynical, money obsessed TV station who are, from comments here, not prepared to show American people much of those sports in which other countries excel; NBC like to wallow in shallow nationalism which dominates international sport so often.
But then what about the IOC who so love the money bags of NBC.

Beach Volleyball.... so boring unlike its indoors equivalent which I have watched during the wonderful BBC coverage of these Olympics.

[mcgato]

I actually thought that Symmonds ran a smart race. I thought that if everyone chased Rudisha going at WR pace, most would tie up badly in the home stretch. I'm thinking that was Symmonds' plan. Let them chase Rudisha and pick them off in the home stretch. Only problem was that too many didn't fade in the stretch. Damn kids didn't behave properly.

[Powell]

I actually thought that Symmonds ran a smart race.

I tend to agree. He just slowed down less than the others, that's why he was passing people. To me, that's a sign of good, sensible pacing, not 'having too much running left in him'.

[EPelle]

• This was the second Rudisha world record race involving contestant Nick Symmonds.

[DecFan]

This was Rudisha's smallest margin of victory in a world record race

Also smaller than all of Kipketer's WRs, no? Indeed, how far back does this streak go?

[j-a-m]

Do you think Rudisha could have run faster in the end of the race

Now assuming Rudisha is capable of running sub 1:40, does he want to do it? Or does he rather want to improve the WR several more times by a small margin each time, even if that costs him the sub 1:40 in the end (similar to Bubka in the PV)?

[Deerfoot]

When talking about performances of such transcendent greatness as Rudisha's here, or Bolt's in Berlin, I think comparisons become meaningless. I was stunned by Bolt then and I am stunned by Rudisha now. That's all I can say.

[notlef70]

I actually thought that Symmonds ran a smart race. I thought that if everyone chased Rudisha going at WR pace, most would tie up badly in the home stretch. I'm thinking that was Symmonds' plan. Let them chase Rudisha and pick them off in the home stretch. Only problem was that too many didn't fade in the stretch. Damn kids didn't behave properly.

Them darn kids!! So hard headed....

[Master Po]

This was Rudisha's smallest margin of victory in a world record race

Also smaller than all of Kipketer's WRs, no? Indeed, how far back does this streak go?

I don't have the answer to the question you asked, but here is some related data of possible interest (inspired by ePelle -- thanks for your list of facts, above!):

Of the men's 800m WRs set in the OG, this one has the largest margin of victory (.82), cf:
1976 Juantorena 1:43.50 Van Damme 1:43.86 (.36)
1968 Doubell 1:44.40 Kiprugut 1:44.57 (.17)
1932 Hampson 1:49.7 Wilson 1:49.9 (.2)
1912 Meredith 1:51.9 Sheppard 1:52.0 (.1)

Moreover, Rudisha's .82 over Amos is the largest margin of victory in this event in an OG final in a very long time. Fast or slow, the men's 800m OG final is usually relatively close -- or at least closer than this one was. You have to go back to 1928 to find an OG final with a larger margin of victory: Lowe 1:51.8 over Bylehn 1:52.8 (1 sec). The largest margin of victory in an OG final where times are recorded for more than the top finisher (thus, 1896 & 1900 set aside) is 1908: Sheppard 1:52.8 over Lunghi 1:54.2 (1.4).

This is yet one more measure of Rudisha's dominance, even while giving all the credit due Amos. As someone above noted, there was a point where I too thought, "Damn, he's closing on Rudisha!" But set in the historical context of OG finals, Amos was nowhere near close (odd to state this, given that he ran 1:41.73!). The thing is -- as DecFan notes -- we are unaccustomed to seeing anyone anywhere close to Rudisha in his great runs, so even though Rudisha's large margin of victory over Amos was historic in terms of men's 800m OG finals, Amos's run nevertheless is noteworthy for how close he was in a Rudisha WR (and of course, noteworthy too for earning the silver medal and joining the 1:41 club).

(All this thanks to http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/sports/ATH/ and bambam!)

[jazzcyclist]

I actually thought that Symmonds ran a smart race. I thought that if everyone chased Rudisha going at WR pace, most would tie up badly in the home stretch. I'm thinking that was Symmonds' plan. Let them chase Rudisha and pick them off in the home stretch. Only problem was that too many didn't fade in the stretch. Damn kids didn't behave properly.

It seems like when Rudisha took off with 300 to go, everyone knew that it would be suicidal to go with him, at which point they all just ran their own race to the finish, rather than get caught up in Rudisha's race, hence the 7 PR's. I would imagine that none of the seven other runners have any regrets about their race, since deep down they know that they couldn't have done anything to run any faster than they did.

[Powell]

This was Rudisha's smallest margin of victory in a world record race

Also smaller than all of Kipketer's WRs, no? Indeed, how far back does this streak go?

To Juantorena's 1:43.50 in the Montreal final.

[jeremyp]

No mention of Rudisha in my local paper. Plenty on Bolt, Women's soccer, some on Eaton, and nada on Rudisha. Likewise in the Washington Post. To non track fans this is the big non story of the day. The media ignored it. I do however laud NBC for at least doing a cool piece on him in Kenya prior to the RACE (?). A Masai warrior being trained by an Irish Priest. I love it.

[Riff80]

I watched the race live on BBC One and the commentators made it known that this 800 was truly epic. And after the race, paraphrasing Michael Johnson, he indicated the sport fails to promote itself or its heroic performances outside of Bolt or sprinters. And as I watch NBC's prime time broadcast the way the race was called on the BBC and the way Tom Hammond called it was a major contrast with NBC not even acknowledging the great performances from all the entire field. There was no mention of the two Americans running sub 1:43 or the fact that two teenagers ran faster than the American and Olympic records and from places 1 - 8 were the best marks ever for place.

I called my wife at work and told her she'd see something special and not just from Bolt tonight. But the call by NBC and Tom Hammond didn't make her fully aware of how truly special Rudisha and the field were in the final.

Bolt is truly great, but today's 800 should be the above tomorrow's cutline - not below it.

Truth to be told, maybe they should not have the 800m final on the same night as the 200m. Bolt is evidently the major showpiece of the sports (even when he runs 10.04 ) so he was always going to overshadow anyone else. It's unfair to Rudisha to have set a world record and play second fiddle. Dont do it again Mr. IOC.

I think Hammond has in his contract that once the runners get on the home straight he is the only one that can talk. During the race you here both commentators and then there is just one dull voice.

[Conor Dary]

One paragraph on Rudisha in the Chicago Tribune today. Plenty on Bolt. Fortunately not much on the Women's soccer.

Of course, most of the coverage was on the Bears's first exhibition game.