R.I.P 2004 800m Olympic Silver Medalist - Mbulaeni Mulaudzi

RIP :(

Only 34.

Ran Adidas Grand Prix in 2013.

World Champion only 5 years ago.

Sad. R.I.P. bro.

Real sad, one of my first athletic heroes.

RIP.

Hell of an athlete. I remember him holding Symmonds and the kick of the Kenyans all the way for the lead in that 2009 World final.

Too young.

R.I.P. Malaudzi was a valiant 800m runner, the best ever in South Africa and among the very best in the world. His "stay" at the top was also one of the longest, lasting. Its unfortunate that the world of athletics has lost a man of such a caliber.

Damn. Met him in late 2010 while in Iten for a couple weeks. Had fun hanging out with him and the rest of the South African crew - they got a kick out of the fact that I knew who Mulaudzi was, but did not know who Hezekiel Sepeng was (who was his coach, and also there at that point).

Also remember he was very proud of being the reigning world champion, and eager to defend his world title against Rudisha, who was the new record holder at that point. A high school group from South Africa came to Iten as well, and I recall them bubbling with excitement over going out to meet Rudisha, when they hardly seemed to acknowledge the fact that the world champion from their home country was staying at the same camp. Very strange to me, but I know South Africa has some baggage that might effect who their sports heroes are.

But R.I.P. Mulaudzi - gone too soon.

Very sad!

http://www.supersport.com/athletics/sa-track-and-field/news/141025/Details_emerge_of_Mulaudzis_accident

We've got a nice tribue article to him up now:

The guy didn't get his due. Here is something I realized.

He beat the two greatest 800 runners ever at a major. He beat Wilson Kipketer at the Olympics (2004) and David Rudisha at Worlds (2009, although they were in different semis).

http://www.letsrun.com/news/2014/10/remembering-mbulaeni-mulaudzi-south-africas-greatest-800-athlete-died-age-34/

Very impressive.

It's worth noting that when he won his world title in 2009 - he got into the final as the last time qualifier.

-Rojo

PS. Check out the names in the 2009 worlds semis. Totally loaded:

Semifinals 21 August

Semifinal 1

1 Nick Symmonds USA 30 Dec 83 1:45.96 Q

note: position 11 on the 2009 world list (outdoor).

2 Jackson Kivuva KEN 11 Aug 88 1:46.32 Q

note: position 21 on the 2009 world list (outdoor).

3 Bilal Mansour Ali BRN 17 Oct 83 1:46.57

note: position 24 on the 2009 world list (outdoor).

4 Tamás Kazi HUN 16 May 85 1:47.01

note: position 32 on the 2009 world list (outdoor).

5 Jeff Lastennet FRA 26 Aug 87 1:57.43

note: position 62 on the 2009 world list (outdoor).

6 Marcin Lewandowski POL 13 Jun 87 2:01.62

note: position 12 on the 2009 world list (outdoor).

Bram Som NED 20 Feb 80 DNF

note: position 8 on the 2009 world list (outdoor).

Abubaker Kaki SUD 21 Jun 89 DNF

note: position 4 on the 2009 world list (outdoor).

Semifinal 2

1 Youssef Saad Kamel BRN 29 Mar 81 1:45.01 Q

note: position 19 on the 2009 world list (outdoor).

2 Yuriy Borzakovskiy RUS 12 Apr 81 1:45.16 Q

note: position 7 on the 2009 world list (outdoor).

3 Alfred Kirwa Yego KEN 28 Nov 86 1:45.22 q

note: position 2 on the 2009 world list (outdoor).

4 Mbulaeni Mulaudzi RSA 8 Sep 80 1:45.26 q

note: position 3 on the 2009 world list (outdoor).

5 Khadevis Robinson USA 19 Jul 76 1:45.91

note: position 15 on the 2009 world list (outdoor).

6 Adam Kszczot POL 2 Sep 89 1:46.33

note: position 36 on the 2009 world list (outdoor).

7 Asbel Kiprop KEN 30 Jun 89 1:52.05

note: position 5 on the 2009 world list (outdoor).

Ahmad Ismail SUD 10 Sep 84 DNF

note: position 10 on the 2009 world list (outdoor).

Semifinal 3

1 Amine Laâlou MAR 13 May 82 1:45.27 Q

note: position 6 on the 2009 world list (outdoor).

2 Yeimer López CUB 28 Aug 82 1:45.33 Q

note: position 14 on the 2009 world list (outdoor).

3 David Rudisha KEN 17 Dec 88 1:45.40

note: world leading mark in 2009 (outdoor).

4 Gary Reed CAN 25 Oct 81 1:45.60

note: position 13 on the 2009 world list (outdoor).

5 Moise Joseph HAI 27 Dec 81 1:45.87 SB

note: position 38 on the 2009 world list (outdoor).

6 Fabiano Peçanha BRA 5 Jun 82 1:45.94

note: position 16 on the 2009 world list (outdoor).

7 Michael Rimmer GBR 3 Feb 86 1:46.77

note: position 47 on the 2009 world list (outdoor).

8 Samson Ngoepe RSA 28 Jan 85 1:49.03

note: position 23 on the 2009 world list (outdoor).

Truly one of the greats. This is sad news indeed. Rest in peace Mbulaeni Mulaudzi.

I was travelling over the weekend and just learned about this today.

RIP.

Damn. As an 800m runner during the 2000s, I looked up to Mulaudzi. Sad to hear about his passing.