Beijing 2015: Kenya’s Rudisha Clinches 800m Gold as Team Nigeria Woes Continue

Kenyan Olympic champion David Rudisha was in absolute control on his track to winning his second world title in the men’s 800m final in Beijing on Tuesday.

The 26-year-old, whose first World Championships medal in the same event came four years ago in Daegu, commanded much of the race and cranked up his speed in the second half (final 400m), simply running away from the field in the homestretch to win in one minute 45.84secs.

A major highlight of the 800m final was the emergence of two non-African medalists for the first time since the championships in Osaka in 2007, as Poland’s Adam Kszczot and Bosnia’s Amel Tuka claimed second and third positions respectively.
Rudisha’s winning mark in Beijing was however 1.93secs slower than his previous title but the Kenyan, who missed 2013 competition through injury, was yet delighted about his exploit.
He told IAAF.org: “It means a lot to me. Especially after all these disappointments I had this year. During last month, I had a problem with my speed, but when I solved it and got my speed back I knew that no matter if the pace in this final will be slow or fast, I can win.”

World record holder Genzebe Dibaba won her first global title in another impressive fashion. The Ethiopian won the 1500m final in 4:08.09 ahead of Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon and Asian Hassan of the Netherlands. It took the 24-year-old roughly 1:57.2 to run the last 800m of the 1500m final to win the race.
Day 4 of this year’s championships was not spared of surprise results as world pole vault record holder and Olympic champion Renauld Lavillenie could only take bronze.
World leader and Botswana’s Nijel Amos failed to reach the final of the 800m, while Nicholas Bett ran 47.79 (PB) to win the men’s 400m hurdles final and become the first Kenyan to win a world title in an event shorter than 800m.
Defending champion in women’s Discuss, Sandra Perkovic, was stri*ped by Cuba’s Denia Caballero.
Caballero’s first-round throw of 69.28m led throughout the competition, as Perkovic could only rescue second position with her last-round throw of 67.39m – the winning distance being 1.89m.
Team Nigeria’s struggle continues
Patience Okon George failed to reach the final of the women’s 400m and Tega Odele’s quest at the World Championships came to an early conclusion in the men’s 200m Heats.
Okon George, starting in the same field as Great Britain’s defending 400m champion Christine Ohuruogu and Jamaica’s Stephanie Ann McPherson, finished fourth in a personal best time of 50.76.
The Nigerian’s result trailed the second fastest qualifiers’ time by just over a quarter of a second.
Odele – a Business Administration student from the University of Benin – ran 20.49 in Heat 2 of the Men’s 200m, won by Panama’s Alonso Edward (20.11).