David Rudisha is surprisingly challenged to the finish, improves to 1:44.94 in Melbourne
by LetsRun.com
March 21, 2015
World record holder David Rudisha improve his seasonal best from 1:45.01 to 1:44.94 today in winning at the IAAF Melbourne World Challenge in Australia, but may have got more than he may have signed up for as he had to run through the line to hold off Aussie Jeffrey Riseley.
With the fans at the meet lining the track, Rudisha went off after normal rabbit Sammy Tangui. However, Rudisha wasn’t right on Tangui at 400 which Rudisha hit in approximately 51.3-4. Still Rudisha’s lead of 5 or so meters at 400 was surprisingly bigger than it was at 600 when Alex Rowe had pulled up very close to Rudisha. As Rudisha hit the homestretch, Rowe started to fade but Riseley moved up. Throughout the final 100, he gained ever so slightly on Rudisha but Rudisha held on for the win.
Results, screenshots from the live broadcasts and race video appear below. Results for the other events which included a New Zealand record for Tom Welsh in the shot put can be found here.
Results 1 Rudisha, David Ken 1:44.94 2 Riseley, Jeffrey Aus 1:45.29Q 3 Rowe, Alex Aus 1:47.11 4 Ralph, Joshua Aus 1:47.52 5 Stenson, Dylan Aus 1:47.84 6 West, Jared Aus 1:48.00 7 Mathews, Luke Aus 1:48.18 8 Bol, Peter Aus 1:49.62 9 Harik, Timas Aus 1:49.97 -- Tangui, Sammy Ken DNF
Discuss the meet and this race on our messageboard:
*Rudisha 1:44.94, pushed to the line by Jeff Riseley
*Insomniacs rejoice: Melbourne Track Classic is on live at 1 am ET (David Rudisha runs at 3:49 am ET) – Official Thread!
You can watch the race here:
There is a second video from the full meet replay with slightly different camera angles and a post-race interview. The race is at the 2:47:30 mark. Rudisha does a post-race interview at the 2:59 mark but we haven’t listened to it quite yet (it’s 4:00 am and we don’t have headphones and don’t want to wake up the family). The stream below doesn’t work if you have a U.S. IP address.
Screenshots from the lives stream. Note, the time on the screen was a hand time and roughly .6 off.
Click for larger image.
Rudisha at 400
Rudisha at 700
Riseley is coming
Rudisha wins
Discuss the meet and this race on our messageboard :
*Rudisha 1:44.94, pushed to the line by Jeff Riseley
*Insomniacs rejoice: Melbourne Track Classic is on live at 1 am ET (David Rudisha runs at 3:49 am ET) – Official Thread!