Kenyan reigning Olympic champion, David Lekuta Rudisha, began the 2016 Olympic year with a win in the men’s 800m at the IAAF World Challenge meeting in Melbourne on Saturday.
David Rudisha, who sets a world record on his way to the gold medal at London 2012, was pleased with his positive start in Melbourne where he clocked 1:44.78 in his first race in 2016.
“Coming here I was hoping for something like 1:44, 1:45,” said Rudisha after the race. “So I was happy to start with that.”
In second place, 20-year-old Australian Luke Matthews smashed his personal best by more than a second to dip under the Rio 2016 Olympic games qualifying standard with 1:45.16.
It was Rudisha’s fifth win in as many starts in Melbourne, ranging from his meeting record of 1:43.15 in 2010 to his 1:44.94 opening time in 2015, the year he won his second world title.