Athletics · 2012 · London, England
The Greatest 800m Ever Run
A Kenyan runner leads an Olympic 800m final from gun to tape and comes out the other side with a world record, dragging the entire field to personal bests along with him.
1:40.91 (world record)
Time
9 August 2012
Date
6 of 8 finalists
Field personal bests
David Rudisha had built his career on a tactic most middle-distance runners avoid: running from the front for the full two laps rather than sitting in and kicking late. In the London 2012 final on 9 August, he did it again, taking the race out hard from the first stride 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. Remarkably, the rest of the field was pulled to career-best times behind him, with six of the eight finalists running personal bests, a testament to how honestly Rudisha had paced the race rather than simply winning it.
The performance was widely called the greatest 800m race ever run, not only for the record but for the manner of it, a front-running, no-hiding effort with nothing left in reserve. Rudisha went on to defend his Olympic title in Rio in 2016, but the London final remains the singular measuring point for the event.
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