Batswana upsets the odds at Hampden Park as Olympic champion David Rudisha has to settle for silver in 800 metres final
Runaway success: Nijel Amos (left) took gold ahead of pre-race favourite David Rudisha
The head-on shot was bizarre. David Rudisha: tall, striding, the epitome of calm. Next to him Nijel Amos: arms swinging wildly, legs overreaching, muscles tensing.
That single image with 10 metres remaining appeared to reveal so much. In fact it was full of deceit. The king of middle-distance running was in trouble and Amos was about to pull off the biggest upset Hampden Park had seen this week.
This was not what the 50,000 spectators had expected to see. Rudisha is not just an Olympic champion or a world record holder. He is the greatest 800m runner in history.
The Kenyan’s victory at London 2012 was described as “the most extraordinary piece of running I have ever seen,” by double Olympic champion Lord Coe.
The Rudisha of Thursday night was not the same man. The 25-year-old has barely run since that race in London two years ago and the absence took its toll.
Not even the greatest can replicate such greatness without putting in the hours. And yet it took until the final 30 metres to find that out.
Employing his customary front-running tactic, Rudisha took his place at the head of the field from the outset, with Amos tucked in behind him – the two big guns in their usual positions.
Leading at halfway, the Kenyan allowed himself a glimpse at the big screen to see the rabble behind him. Not a flicker of emotion crossed his face. Everything was going to plan.
With 100 metres remaining he decided the time had come to win the race. A blast of acceleration and the field was left for dead.
Employing his customary front-running tactic, Rudisha took his place at the head of the field from the outset, with Amos tucked in behind him – the two big guns in their usual positions.
Leading at halfway, the Kenyan allowed himself a glimpse at the big screen to see the rabble behind him. Not a flicker of emotion crossed his face. Everything was going to plan.
With 100 metres remaining he decided the time had come to win the race. A blast of acceleration and the field was left for dead.
Only something went wrong. Paying for that lack of training, his legs began to slow and the manic figure of Amos loomed in his rearview mirror.
If Rudisha glides over the surface, Amos pummels it with what appears to be every random thunderous step he takes. What he lacks in style he more than makes up for in determination though and, baring his teeth, the 20-year-old caught the Kenyan, passed him and flung his arms in the air in celebration. The Botswanan won in 1 min 45.18 sec with Rudisha taking home silver and South African Andre Olivier bronze.
“I panicked a little bit in the last 100 metres because I checked the screen and I thought ‘s---’ I’m in a box,” said Amos afterwards. “It wasn’t easy to get out. I was lucky because my training partner Andre, someone who really cares about me, let me out.”
The gold medal was his, but Amos was the first to admit the natural order remained intact.
“This gentleman here will always be the hero of 800m,” he said pointing at Rudisha. “I don’t think I am the man in the 800m. I will only think that if I break the world record five times.”
The unassuming Lionel Messi to Usain Bolt’s brash Cristiano Ronaldo, Rudisha’s legacy on the track had already been secured prior to this Commonwealth Games.
Glasgow needed Rudisha more than Rudisha needed Glasgow and defeat will barely form a blot on his career record.
“I am happy to achieve [silver] despite the fact that I would have wished to do better and maybe win the gold medal,” he said.
“Let’s not forget it has been a tough season for me and I am happy with the progress so far because I really didn’t have enough time to do my preparation.
“I missed a lot of my training starting very late. The way I am, I am satisfied.”
As expected Jamaica achieved a clean sweep in the 200m with Rasheed Dwyer taking gold ahead of Warren Weir and Jason Livermore.
