David Rudisha celebrates taking silver in the final of the men's 800m
athletics event at Hampden Park during the 2014 Commonwealth Games in
Glasgow, Scotland, on July 31, 2014. PHOTO | BEN STANSALL |
AFP
The world and Olympic 800m
record-holder David Rudisha has said he is determined to make a great
comeback by reclaiming the world title this year in China before
defending his Olympic title in Rio 2016.
Rudisha, who
competed for Kenya last at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in Scotland in
July where he won silver, said he has already started intensive
training in Iten.
The 26-year-old athlete said he
intends to switch to speed wok in February before eyeing two 800m races
starting with the IAAF Melbourne World Challenge in Australia on March
21.
“I am currently doing my hill work speed and
fat-leg training in search of endurance,” said Rudisha. “With time, I'll
switch to track for speed work which is the most important part.”
Unlike when he used to warm up for his season with 400m races, Rudisha said he will focus on 800m only this season.
“That
is not to say I'm unwell. The good news is that my training is going on
well without any problems,” added the former world champion.
INJURY
Talking
about his recovery from a knee injury that saw him fail to defend his
World title at the 2013 World Championships in Moscow, Rudisha noted
that even though an injury can heal well physically, the biggest
challenge lies on the psychological part of recovery.
Rudisha
hit the track again last season, winning two Diamond League events in
New York and Glasgow in June and July respectively before making a
return in Glasgow to settle for silver at the Commonwealth Games behind
Botswana's sensation Nijel Amos.
“There is always that
psychological problem that strikes the mind reminding you of the injury
and it takes time to disappear,” said Rudisha adding that his main
challenge has been missing a lot in training when he took a break.
“One tends to lose shape and fitness and regaining it is a daunting task,” added the Olympic champion.
Rudisha
said even though last year wasn’t a busy season for athletes where they
opted to run tactically rather than going for good times, it was period
for him to rise again.
“There were good times from
2009 to 2013 with athletes clocking 1:40 and 1:41 but 2014 was a break
year with nothing much,” noted the 26-year-old, who improved on his
world record with new time of 1:40.91 with his Olympic victory in
London. “But my target was to finish the 2014 season with a sub 1:42 and
I achieved that.”
Rudisha says he was particularly
impressed by Fegusson Rotich - who won the 800m nationals last year. “He
is coming up well and he is destined for good things with more hard
work and focus,” said Rudisha.
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