David Rudisha on his way to winning the men's 800m in Split (© Getty Images)
He has broken Wilson Kipketer’s World record at 800 metres two times within one week, he was unbeaten during the whole season, winning the African Championships as well as the Continental Cup, and finally he was crowned World Athlete the Year. Jürg Wirz visited David Rudisha at his home in the Kenyan town of Eldoret.
Article published in IAAF 2010 Yearbook - December 2010
Ever wondered where the most successful athlete of the year lives? In a mansion, surrounded by a huge garden, a swimming pool and a garage with at least two cars inside? Far from it! David Rudisha, the man who set two World 800 metre records in the space on one week, lives with his wife Lizzy, a student in human resources, and daughter Charin in a one bedroom house outside Eldoret, the “Capital City of Running”.
In the sitting room there is a three seater sofa, on one side of the room the bed for the house girl, on the other a wall cupboard with a TV, in a corner the fridge. The ceiling has a lot of water stains. That is where the Rudishas lived for the last two years. Now they are looking for a new home. But there is no rush.
“The houses are too expensive. I think it’s better to build my own,” the charming young man says with a big smile. “I was not at the Olympics in Beijing and after an injury I didn’t make it to the final at the World Championships in Berlin. Before the end of 2009 I didn’t get much.”
After his incredible 2010 season the money is not the problem anymore but time is. He hopes that good friends like former 800 meter runner, Japhet Kimutai, will help him supervising the construction.
David Lekuta (born on a morning, when there was a lot of wind) Rudisha was born in Kilgoris, in the neighborhood of the famous Masai Mara national park. The small town has already produced another great 800m runner: Billy Konchellah, World champion in 1987 and 1991.
The talent is in his genes. His father, Daniel Rudisha, was part of the Olympic silver medal winning 4x400m relay in Mexico City in 1968. He was David’s motivator and mentor in the early days. “I owe to him that I became an athlete,” Rudisha says with shining eyes. “Since that moment when he showed me his Olympic medal for the first time, he was my idol and my hero. I dreamed of following his footsteps. When I was a little boy, I always wanted to run. I loved competing with my friends.”
The Rudisha family was not poor. Father Daniel was the headmaster at the local primary school, where David’s mother was also teaching. Daniel Rudisha could afford two wives who gave birth to four boys and seven girls. Nowadays, “Mzee” Rudisha is one of the happiest and proudest people in the whole Republic of Kenya.
“When you see that your son is following you and has even more success than you had – can a father wish for anything more?” David asks, without expecting any answer.
Until the ninth year, David was schooling at Kilgoris. That time he was 16 years old and already an athlete. He was running 200 meters, 400 meters and the relays for his school which was using him also for the Decathlon. It was then that Colm O’Connell, the Irish Patrician Brother, teacher and top coach, was struck with this tall, powerful athlete.
The 62-year-old from Cork, who has lived in Kenya since 1976, remembers well: “It was in 2004 at a school sport event. He was running the 200 meters. One year later I saw him again, this time at Kitale where he was competing in the Decathlon. I invited him to our spring training camp in Iten. This was in April 2005. After one month of training he ran the 800m in under 1:50 – on a dirt track. That was the start of our cooperation. I then helped him to move to a school near my domain, the St. Francis Kimoron Secondary School where he graduated in 2008.” That is where David Rudisha’s amazing rise to the top of the athletics world and the two World records began.
“Already in 2007 I thought I would be able to break the World record in the near future,” Rudisha tells, without appearing arrogant at all. “That time Sammy Tangui was the pacemaker in Lausanne. I liked the way he was running. He is tall, he has a strong body and his stride is similar to mine. I told him in one of the coming years I would need him when I try to break the World record. Since the beginning of 2010 Tangui is my training partner, my room-mate when I’m at Iten and my pacemaker. It is true that he is only able to lead me up to about 450m, but this is enough. It’s better than slowing down by trying to push up to 500 or 550m – and me loosing the rhythm.”
In Berlin, Rudisha ran the first lap behind Tangui in 48.8/48.9 seconds, in Rieti even two tenths of a second faster. Rudisha and coach O’Connell agreed on this terrific intermediate time after a test at the beginning of the year in Sydney resulted in 45.50 seconds for the 400m. But even the very experienced coach finds himself in a new sphere.
“David is capable of running the first lap below 49 seconds without consuming a lot of energy. But, honestly, I am not one hundred percent certain if 48.8 plus 52.2 seconds brings the best possible outcome. We might try next time with a first lap which is a fraction slower. On the other hand, the World Championships are the first priority for the 2011 season and not the record. What we will definitely not change is the way we divide the season into several competition periods with three weeks training in Kenya in between.”
Two World records within seven days and in the same week the win at the Samsung Diamond League event in Brussels – how did David Rudisha himself experience that magic week?
“Berlin was harder,” he says and explains. “Wilson’s record had survived for 13 years. Therefore, the pressure as well as the expectation was huge when I went to Berlin. I really had to push myself to the limit. In Rieti, I was much more relaxed; I had the record already in my pocket. But after all the media attention and only two days after Brussels I was not completely fresh anymore. I am convinced that otherwise I would have run under 1:41 minutes.”
Postponed but not forgotten. He believes he is capable of running half a second faster than his current World record of 1:41.01. His coach, as a man of God usually a modest person who stands with his two feet on the ground, let himself lead into temptation for a long-term prediction.
“As a coach I have to be realistic but at the same time I have to keep all options open. If David remains healthy, I don’t even exclude a time under 1:40 minutes in the years after the 2012 Olympics. When it comes to his training he can still improve. David’s big plus is not only his talent, thanks to his stature and his height of almost 1.90m he has a commanding presence in a race, no matter in which position he is running. Beside this he is somebody who is studying the 800m. He is watching videos and he is reading a lot about other athletes and their training. He would never take on a training program meonly because I say so. We always discuss and consider also his physical state on this specific day.”
David Rudisha is the new national hero in Kenya. When he came back from Europe in September, there were hundreds of fans waiting for him at the Jomo Kenyatta Airport in Nairobi. The main celebration took place at Kilgoris, his rural home. Kenya police estimated the number of guests and onlookers at 6,000 people. There were relatives, friends, neighbours, athletes, governmental representatives as well as local politicians who usually don’t miss such an opportunity. Even the former President, Daniel arap Moi, witnessed when the Masai Elder appointed Rudisha “Warrior”. In honour of the occasion, 20 cattle had to loose their lives.
“It was enormous,” Rudisha says, and he is still impressed. “Our district has never seen such an event.” He felt also very proud when he was crowned IAAF World Athlete of the Year (“A great honour, being the first Kenyan”), but at the end of the year he was glad when all the celebrations, receptions and festivities were behind him.
“When I am training, I don’t want any disturbances. I have to be focused, not losing sight of my targets. I cannot evade the fact that I am now well known and I have made already some money, but you can learn how to deal with it. It is a big advantage living in Eldoret. When I am at Kilgoris, everybody wants something from me. Not only a good advice, even money.”
David Rudisha has still a long way to go. “Billy Konchellah with his World Championship titles, Paul Ereng with his Olympic gold and Wilson Kipketer with his World records are my role models,” he says. Equaling all the three is the dream he is running after.