David Rudisha 1.43.34 WL in the semi finals!

Looks good for this year. I can see him hitting 1.41 by Rio

Impressive given the elevation of the trials.

Could something special be in the books? Perhaps.

I say that if he makes the finals, then he definitely has a chance (duh). That said, It can't be a race. The only way he takes this is if he takes it wire-to-wire without any contest from the other athletes the final 50m or so. The past couple of years while he has been dealing with his injuries, he has been so vulnerable the final 50-100ms and has lost a handful of races that way. He can't leave this up to chance. Take off from the gun!

Not like last year where his change in tactics cost him the gold.....OwaitAnd BTW altitude doesn't affect Kenyans in the 800.

Wire to Wire wrote:

Impressive given the elevation of the trials.

Could something special be in the books? Perhaps.

I say that if he makes the finals, then he definitely has a chance (duh). That said, It can't be a race. The only way he takes this is if he takes it wire-to-wire without any contest from the other athletes the final 50m or so. The past couple of years while he has been dealing with his injuries, he has been so vulnerable the final 50-100ms and has lost a handful of races that way. He can't leave this up to chance. Take off from the gun!

Owait wrote:

And BTW altitude doesn't affect Kenyans in the 800.

[/quote]

Stop it.

Altitude doesn't hurt anyone in the 800.

It helps in the 400.

Star wrote:

Altitude doesn't hurt anyone in the 800.

It helps in the 400.

This.

1:43 is impressive regardless, but don't act like it is somehow worth 1:41 because it's at altitude.

Looking forward to seeing Rudisha back at top form in Rio.

come on people wrote:

Star wrote:

Altitude doesn't hurt anyone in the 800.

It helps in the 400.

This.

1:43 is impressive regardless, but don't act like it is somehow worth 1:41 because it's at altitude.

Looking forward to seeing Rudisha back at top form in Rio.

The more I see fast 800s at altitude not bested when the athletes go to sea level, the more I am leaning this way.

The altitude at which the Kenyan trials takes place simply cannot affect the 800m, or is very, ever so slightly, beneficial. It is greatly beneficial at 400m.

He's pretty sharp then and returning to form.

In the year of his best form, he ran low 1:42 in Nairobi in 2012:

17 1:42.12A David Rudisha KEN 17.12.88 1 Nairobi 23.06.2012

Who could forget his 1:40 in 2012. That was awesome!

Dr No wrote:

Who could forget his 1:40 in 2012. That was awesome!

One of, if not the, best run ever.

Star wrote:

Altitude doesn't hurt anyone in the 800.

It helps in the 400.

yeah, based on anecdotal evidence i agree with this. i think it takes longer to fully recover after an 800 at altitude, but i dont think it has much of an effect on the race itself.

I think we are forgetting the fact this was only the semi finals. Most likely it was not a 100% effort and he may run a 1.42 tomorrow

That would be awesome.

Don't forget wrote:

I think we are forgetting the fact this was only the semi finals. Most likely it was not a 100% effort and he may run a 1.42 tomorrow

I hope so.

He may have just wanted to throw down the fast time when not under pressure, but will just go for the win tomorrow.

That said, Rudisha's biggest strength has always been his outright faster ability than everyone else. He get's outkicked in more tactical, slower races all the time. Rudisha always wins when he just runs faster than anyone can dream of, by himself.

Metric Miler wrote:

That said, Rudisha's biggest strength has always been his outright faster ability than everyone else. .

Yeah, that's a pretty good strength to have: to be faster than the people you are racing. Good observation.

Tyrone ReXXXing wrote:

Metric Miler wrote:

That said, Rudisha's biggest strength has always been his outright faster ability than everyone else. .

Yeah, that's a pretty good strength to have: to be faster than the people you are racing. Good observation.

Thanks. Most people here believe Farah's greatest strength is his kicking ability and he is not outright faster than those he races over 5k.

Amos and Kszczot are good at kicking.

Shall I do any more for you?

Metric Miler wrote:

Thanks. Most people here believe Farah's greatest strength is his kicking ability and he is not outright faster than those he races over 5k.

Amos and Kszczot are good at kicking.

Shall I do any more for you?

relax, I was having fun with you. I knew your point (and it is somewhat valid), however, I was having fun with the way you worded it.

A) worded a bit awkwardly: "his outright faster ability than everyone else". And..

B) There is obviously no better strength to have than to be simply the fastest runner in the field (even with bad tactics, or less 100% effort, you can usually still win). It almost appeared as if you were acting like it was the equivalent of being a good dribbler or 3 pt shooter in basketball, just one skill among many possibilities.

As far as Farah:

a) you're right, he is almost always simply better than everyone else (he has " outright faster ability"), even in a time trial type race, YET....we haven't had complete proof of this really (when has he been in a strict time trial/WR pace form the gun type of race? Ever? Still, I would see him winning most of those races too)

b) but he is ALSO a great kicker and tactician. This is indisputable. (and against Gebremeskal his tactics are what saved him. Gebremeskal had run faster than Farah. But stupidly, he let it turn into a mile race. And THEN he got incredibly boxed and was like 10th at the bell giving Farah an insane head start with 1 lap to go. Geb hunted him down, but lost. If he had pushed earlier, or AT LEAST been with Farah with 1 to go, he most likely would have won. )

Rudisha did win gold (WC's) off of a very slow pace also. So he's done it both ways. Also, the 800 is different: it's easier to lead the whole way compared to longer races.

Carry on.

It is possible that the slowest man in the 16 person semifinal races at Rio will have a sub 1:44 PR.

Don't forget wrote:

I think we are forgetting the fact this was only the semi finals. Most likely it was not a 100% effort and he may run a 1.42 tomorrow

Rudisha will likely need faster than 1:42 to extinguish the thirst of his Kenyan rivals especially Nicholas Kiplangat Koech and Jonathan Kitiliti, the world leaders as well as Ferguson Rotich who is immensely talented and could even beat Rudisha in a 1:41 time. Up until last year, from his Kenyan rivals' perspective, Rudisha enjoyed the status of a king in his event and was highly respected. It felt awkward to challenge him. Last year, Rotich begun the assault at the trials and went ahead to beat him again in one of the Diamond league races (if my memory cuts me right). This year Rotich has already beaten him twice, showing that his confidence is getting better. And that is not to mention the two new finds who have broken 1:44 twice in Kenya and once internationally and in the process slaying France's Bosse who had come close to beating Rudisha in a recent race before that encounter. Rudisha will have to really run for his life tomorrow if he wants to win it. Should anything happen, though, he will get in through the wild card. I say this because it will not be a surprise to see Rudisha finish 4th or even 5th after going out really fast and fading to finish in 1:43 high.