Exceptional: Rudisha

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDqwlU4XlHw&feature=related

David Rudisha, the man featured in the first 33 seconds of the linked video, is one of the greatest athletes in the world that you have never heard of. Today he will challenge the venerable 800m world record, a time he has run within a few steps of already this season, in a major track meet in Berlin. To do so, he will probably have to run nearly half a mile in a scintillating 1:40, which is a near-sprint pace for even the world's best. He recently dominated the African Championships in Nairobi, and the towering Maasai Kenyan, at 6'2" at least half a foot taller than most top Kenyan distance runners, carries a quiet dignity in interviews that conceals the ferocity of his exploits on the track. Whether he gets the record today or not, he will go down in history as a supreme example of athleticism in it's finest guise- a serene demeanor with a powerful gift.

Update: a scant few hours after my above post, Rudisha took down the record in beautiful run:

http://www.sportschau.de/sp/layout/jsp/komponente/mediaseite/index.jsp?id=105262#mbContent

He is only the third record-holder in this event in 29 years!