David Rudisha: Man of the people

By MUTWIRI MUTUOTA for the Standard
A day after thousands, including dignitaries, who had flooded Kilgoris town to celebrate the return of David Rudisha had left, serenity prevailed as the town reverted to its sleepy nature.

However, this did not signal a return to normalcy for the world record holder, as callers continued pouring to his Oloiborsoito (the place with the white rock) location home to pay homage, or seek his counsel, now that he had been installed as a high Moran.

“I hardly ever live here, but every time I return, I have to deal with many people,” Rudisha offered, once he emerged from his residence to meet eager reporters.

After giving a number of directions, his callers from the press shepherded him to the back of his home for an interview opportunity.

“2010 has been a very successful year for me. I was expecting to do well this year since I had prepared, but I did not expect to break the world record.

“It’s only after running 1:41.51 in Heusden-Zolder (July) that I thought to myself it was possible, and in Berlin (1:41.09), it came true. Rieti (1:41.01/WR) was a dream,” the world record holder begun.

“Whether I can ran faster than that depends on how my body reacts next season, but more importantly, my aim is to compete for the World Championships and the 2012 Olympics,” the two-time African 800m champion added.

Having been promoted to a high Moran the world record holder understands the scale of responsibility and expectations placed on his 21-year-old shoulder.

“I was given the responsibility to lead, and my age mates will be coming to me as their leader. Of course, there is pressure to meet their expectations, while still performing at the top of my sport, but with good planning, this can be achieved.”

Despite the wishes of his mother Naomi, the former St. Francis Iten student, who bagged gold for Africa at the IAAF Continental Cup in Split earlier this month in addition to winning his speciality at the pioneer IAAF Diamond League series, is not planning on returning to the books.

“That will come with time, but my concentration at the moment is to maintain top performances in my sport. If I divide my concentration with education, it will be difficult to achieve my goals, but there is enough time to study further once my running career ends.

“I wanted to be a teacher just like my parents. I always got good encouragement and inspiration from them. When my father noticed I was keen on running, he began giving me knowledge and tips.

“I managed to get grades that qualified me to be a teacher and would have studied to teach geography,” he explained.

His parents Daniel and Naomi Rudisha are retired teachers, with the former also an athlete who won 4X400m relay silver at the 1968 Olympics.

Juggling the responsibilities of being a world-beater, Moran and a married family man who has a six-month-old daughter is no burden for Rudisha.

“It depends on what you are made of and I believe I’m made of strong stuff.”