Athletics · 2012 · London, England
The Greatest 800m Ever Run
A Kenyan runner leads an Olympic 800m final from gun to tape, takes the world record, and drags most of the field to personal bests behind him.
1:40.91 (world record)
Time
9 August 2012
Date
6 of 8 finalists
Field personal bests
David Rudisha had built a career on the thing most middle-distance runners will not do: lead from the first stride and hold it for two full laps, rather than sit in and kick late. In the London 2012 final on 9 August he did it again, taking the race out hard and never being seriously challenged.
He crossed the line in 1:40.91, breaking his own world record and becoming the first man to run inside 1:41 for the distance. Six of the eight finalists ran personal bests chasing him, which is what an honestly paced race does to a field.
It gets called the greatest 800m ever run, and the case rests less on the record than on the manner of it, a front-running effort with nothing kept in reserve. Rudisha defended his Olympic title in Rio in 2016.
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