David Rudisha beats Abubaker Kaki at the Aviva London Grand Prix – Athletics news
While competing at the Aviva London Grand Prix, David Rudisha, the middle distance runner from Kenya defeated his Sudanese counterpart and archrival, Abubaker Kaki in wonderful fashion.
The competition between the two formidable runners was rather the crux of the two-day athletics event, which is regarded as the 12th stop of this year’s Samsung Diamond League series.
The importance of emerging at a star-studded Aviva London Grand Prix could not be denied by athletes as this was the last major event before the IAAF World Athletics Championships in Daegu, which has been scheduled to commence on August 27. Moreover, this
was also the final major event in London, ahead of next year’s Olympics Games.
Before coming to the Aviva London Grand Prix, spectators were receiving different predictions about the battle between Rudisha, the world record holder over the 800m distance and Kaki, who has been undefeated on the track this entire year for the distance.
However, when the two came against each other, it was the Kenyan who prevailed against his traditional rival. The way Rudisha marked his dominance over the distance established the idea that he will also successfully bag the world championships title in South
Korea.
An important reason for why spectators were interested in watching the battle between the middle distance runners was because of the fact that they have not encountered each other this entire season. As the contest concluded, it was the Kenyan runner who
overdid his rival for clocking an impressive one minute and 42.91 seconds finish.
The time clocked by Crystal Palace was not only the meet record, but also a UK All Comers’ record. The previous track record, which stood at one minute and 43.22 seconds, was set by Steve Cram, who clocked it back in 1986.
Although there were no specific predictions about who will emerge against whom, but it was visible that both Kaki and Rudisha were taking this run with acute seriousness. While facing each other in Olso in last season’s Samsung Diamond League, Kaki had given
the Kenyan a tough time on the track and it had become almost impossible for him to emerge against the Sudanese, unless the finishing line was hit.
Keeping that previous fight in mind, it was imperative for Rudisha to not to take a chance, and thus, as the race kicked-off, he strived for gaining and maintaining a lead over his rival. This lead could not be earned until the final 350m of the race.
Kaki, the second finisher of the race, though could not claim the title, but he did display the best of his talent and finished for an impressive one minute and 43.13 seconds. The third position in the competition was claimed by another Kenyan, Boaz Lalang,
who hit the finishing line one second later than Kaki.
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