LOST& FOUND
A LONG BATTLE WITH INJURY HAD DAVID RUDISHA DOUBTING IF HE WOULD EVER RETURN TO THE TOP, BUT THE KENYAN TELLS BEN COLDWELL THAT HE NEVER TRULY LOST BELIEF
PICTURES: MARK SHEARMAN
THERE WERE times during the last Olympic cycle when it was hard not to watch David Rudisha and think that the old, world record-breaking, all-conquering twolap wonder was lost to the world.
After shining so brightly in the years leading up to the 2012 Olympics, Rudisha’s crescendo came in his gold medal-winning 1:40.91 world record – later hailed by former holder Seb Coe as the “most extraordinary piece of running I have probably ever seen”.
Sadly, a crippling knee injury in 2013 robbed the Kenyan of the opportunity to continue building on the momentum gained over the previous three years, during which time he had set three world records, won world and Olympic golds and been beaten just twice over the 800m.
Even with a second World Championships gold to his name from 2015, won in a modest 1:45.84, he came away from Beijing without the air of invincibility he once exuded. Rudisha, now back running with the same dominance of his early twenties, admits he feared he would never rediscover his old self.