On Instagram today I saw a post about the London Olympics 800 metre final in 2012, considered to be one of the greatest races in history. I remember watching David Rudisha break the world record but I didn’t know how well everybody had done. Wikipedia:
Reigning world champion David Rudisha won the race in 1:40.91, becoming the first person to break 1:41 and improving on his own world record (the first world record in an Olympic men’s 800m final since 1976). The reigning world junior champion, Nijel Amos, finished second in 1:41.73, establishing a new world junior record and Botswana national record. In an exceptionally fast final, all runners except Abubaker Kaki (who ran a seasonal best) set personal bests, including three national records (Kenya, Botswana, and Ethiopia). The finishing times were the fastest recorded for each placing and it constituted the first time that eight athletes ran under 1:44 in the same race. All the athletes in the race produced times that would have won the final in Beijing. The eighth-place finisher, Andrew Osagie, produced a time that would have won the gold medal at all but three of the previous Olympic 800m finals.
Absolutely incredible.
My Excerpts 