Rudisha WR splits and Analysis, Men's 800m:From the video (go to letsrun.com to see an embedded version), we can ascertain that David Rudisha's individual splits are 49.1, 1:14.54(25.44), 1:41.09(26.59). The 200 meter split is not visible in the video as the cameramen granted us a much-demanded closer look at the a slow-looking white guy running in last. It's not a reach to extrapolate from when they pan back to the actual race going on that Rudisha went through the half-lap mark in a shade under 24 seconds. Either way, Rudisha's splits were nearly perfect. They are very close to what Kipketer split for his record, and I believe a slight positive split is ideal for the 800 meters.
For a typical guy in the 800 meters, my method for ideal splits is have the first 200 as the fastest one, add 1.5 seconds to get the second 200 split, and add .5 seconds to that time to get the third 200 split, and an additional .5 seconds to the third split 200 to get the fourth.
A 1:41.0 is thus 23.75/49.0(25.25)/1:14.75(25.75)/1:41.0(26.25). For us middling 2:00 guys it yields 28.5/58.5(30)/1:29(30.5)/31(2:00). I think Rudisha, similar to in Heusden, ran a little too hard in the third 200 of his race. His ability to run that hard, in what for most is the most difficult part to run fast, reveals how special he is. It might be something about chasing down the pacemaker and the adrenaline from that, but I've never seen someone so capable and willing to consistently run under 26 seconds in the third 200.
Now, after watching the video I am even more impressed with Rudisha's performance because in a move that is not novel, but rather characteristic of all of his time-trial efforts, he did not even draft on his pacemaker, Sammy Tangui. Since Tangui split a swift 48.6, I know some probably think that Rudisha laid off because of the overly ambitious pace. It's simply not true, however. In Oslo and in Heusden where Rudisha ran 1:42.0 and 1:41.5, respectively, Tangui went out in 48.9 and 49.2. Both times Rudisha gave him about four tenths of separation, much as he did in this world-record effort. Whether it makes sense or not, Rudisha seems to prefer to use Tangui as a target to run down as opposed to a breaker of wind. He appears to seek the psychological benefits of having the rabbit as opposed to the physical ones. This is certainly in contrast to Wilson Kipketer who followed his pacemakers very closely, even going out in a masochistic 48.1 in Zurich once to stay with them(he ran 1:41.24 in that race, somehow). Rudisha praised his training partner, Tangui, after the race and hugged him in the video. It seems Tangui does exactly for Rudisha exactly what he wants, if not what all believers in physics want.
One more thing worth noting is that Rudisha was only paced for 450 meters, making this world record an even more impressive achievement. In Kipketer's 1:41.11 in Cologne, he was paced for nearly 600 meters. Rudisha also dismantled a field including 1:43.29 man and training partner Boaz Lalang and several other 1:43 men. This run in addition to Rudisha's 1:42.8(incredible 51.6/51.2 splits frontrunning) 2 second win at the African Championships over 2007 World Champion Alfred Yego illustrates Rudisha's incredible dominance of the 2010 season. He is undefeated at 800 meters, and in the second half of the season he has been unchallenged.
Moreover, he possesses a potent strategy that should destroy anyone in a major championship outside of perhaps Abubaber Kaki. If Rudisha leads out or runs near the front for a reasonable first 400, he is capable of running his next 200 in as low as a staggering 25 seconds flat. This type of move would wreak havoc on the field as there are probably 2 guys historically who could deal with that sort of third 200 even in a slower race, Sebastian Coe and Kipketer. His African Championships strategy was a sneak peek of this type of deadly move and I'd look for it in Daegu during the 2011 World Championships.
Athletes and Storylines that may Interest Only Me:
American Leonel Manzano, who I've touted as a 1:44 guy waiting for a race, finally got in and deliver with a nearly second personal best of 1:44.56. Manzano, as his 800 running style, ran fairly even and in a testament to the sheer greatness of Rudisha's run was barely on the screen throughout. As usual, the Leo kick was excellent and he closed ahead of the more highly-touted 800 specialists Yego, and Jackson Kivuna.
Blurbs no video :(
Women's 800m:
South African athlete(I'll be neutral) Caster Semenya ran a solid 1:59.90 to win the women's 800m on her way back to what will almost certainly be a repeat gold medal performance in next year's world championships. The gender issue aside, there's no debating that Semenya was in a different class from every other athlete in last year's final.
Men's 3000m: My headline athlete of the Weltklasse meet, Tariku Bekele, extended his standout campaign with a world-leading 7:28.99 for his second great race in three days. Bekele easily dispatched a strong field including African Champion Edwin Soi, Diamond League Standout Vincent Chepkok, and 2009 5000m Silver Medalist Bernard Lagat. Lagat's fading 7:35 was particularly disappointing in a race that was fast enough for him to achieve his stated goal of beating Bob Kennedy's still-standing American record of 7:30.67. The pacemaking was solid with kilometer splits of 2:29.87 and 5:02.27(2:32.4). Bekele thus probably ran an impressive 2:26 for his last kilometer. With the Bekele brothers, Diamond League champion Imane Merga, and Dejen Gebremeskel, the Ethiopian have a legitimate shot to achieve a podium sweep at the 5000 meters to match previous sweeps at the 10,000 meters in major championships.
Athletes and Storylines that may Interest Only Me:
1. Fresh off his encouraging 8:09 steeple in Zurich, Saif Saaeed Shaheen was a DNF in this race.
2.Kenyan Isaac Songok continued his struggles with a 7:45, which has even had some letsrun contributors compare him to Alan Webb. In a stellar 2006, Songok ran 7:28 and 12:48 and even beat Kenenisa Bekele. He also ran under 3:32 in 4 consecutive season from 2003-2006. Since then, he has not broken 13 minutes or 3:36 in the 1500. His lone bright spot was a 7:32 3000m in Rieti last year.
3. The Bekele brothers sure are particular about their conditions. Tariku said this after the race:
"The weather here is hot and dry and this dryness gave me difficulties during the first two laps. But then I got into the race and felt better and better. On the last two laps I knew that I could take the lead. After this race I see that my shape is really good. I wanted to run unter 7:30 and it is not easy to do so on this track and in this big stadium where one has the impression that these many spectators take all the oxygen from you."
Par for the course for the family, as Kenenisa once famously rationalized not going after an indoor world record because there allegedly was too much wind in the indoor arena.
Men's 1500m: Finally, Kenyan revelation Silas Kiplagat backed up his European debut world leading time of 3:29.21 with another exemplary performance. Kiplagat won easily in the kick by almost a full second over Ethiopian Mekonnen Gebremehdin, who set a much-overdue improvement to his personal best. Kenyan Augustine Choge appears vulnerable again- two athletes that he dispatched in London, turned the tables on him in this one. Also, running well was European Champion, Arturo Casado, who improved his PB to 3:32.70. I find it kind of odd that Casada and other Spanish middle distance athletes like Natalia Rodriguez have barely raced if at all on the European circuit.
Men's and Women's 400m: Grouping these together because in each one it was the same song. Absent the world leader, both Debbie Dunn and Jermaine Gonzales won the race in slow times. Jamaican 400m hurdler Kaliese Spence ran a very good 50.64 for second in the women's race.
Men's 100m: Jamaican Nesta Carter continued his fine running with an easy 9.96 +0.1 win over a light field. Scary to think that he's probably the fourth best Jamaican on their amazingly stacked relay.
Women's 100mH: Canadian Priscilla Lopes-Schliep ran yet another sub 12.60 performance, this time 12.57, to win easily yet again.
That's all, stay tuned for an overdue Off-Beat edition coming soon
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