Brace for the Bolt vs Rudisha track showdown

London: After becoming the first track and field athlete to set a world record at London 2012, Kenyan 800m champion David Rudisha turned his attention to a possible showdown with sprint great Usain Bolt on a compromised distance of 400m.

“Usain is a great athlete and his specialty is the 100m and 200m. I do the 400m early in the season, so maybe we can meet in a 400m race just for fun. It would be great for our sport,” Rudisha joked after his victory on Thursday night.

Participating in his first Olympics after missing out on Beijing due to an injury, the Kenyan recounted that disappointing moment. “My coach told me to have patience and not take a risk with the injury during that time,” he said.

“And it’s good that I had that moment of low as it is this moment that has made me what I am now.”

On the other hand, there has been speculation that Bolt may turn his attention to the 400m so as to set himself up with a fresh challenge in world athletics. “Rudisha went pretty fast there. I think he was 58 seconds at the end of 500m and that’s a bit fast for me. But if I train, then I can take him over the 400m. I think I could probably do that,” Bolt told media.