Confirmed: Safaricom has sent Sh2m to ‘King David’ account
David Lekuta Rudisha poses next to the record board after winning the men's 800 final during the London 2012 Olympic Games on August 9, 2012 in London. With his world record-breaking Olympic 800m triumph, the Kenyan runner achieved a long-held goal of going one better than the silver medal his father Daniel won at the 1968 Games. Photo/AFP
What you need to know:
- David Rudisha will receive Sh2 million prize money from Safaricom
- Rudisha won Kenya’s second and last gold medal at London 2012
- He smashed his own record of one minute and 41.01 seconds by posting 1:40.91
World and Olympic 800 metres champion David Rudisha will receive Sh2 million prize money from Safaricom for breaking the world record at the recent London Olympics.
This is in addition to the Sh1 million that the company promised gold medallists before the Games.
Rudisha won Kenya’s second and last gold medal at London 2012 after Ezekiel Kemboi’s victory in the 3,000m steeplechase.
He smashed his own record of one minute and 41.01 seconds by posting 1:40.91 to become the first man to break the 800m record at an Olympics.
Announcing the additional prize for the Team Kenya captain at the Games, Safaricom Sponsorship Manager Wangui Kibe said Rudisha’s performance was a facelift to the country’s performance after the team lost medal after another.
“That was an exceptional performance and we are proud of him,” said Kibe. “The gift will be a motivation to him and other young runners who have such ambitions.”
More than two weeks after this exploits in London, Rudisha might not be coming home anytime soon.
He and other top runners are warming up for the Samsung Diamond League finals due August 30 and September 7 in Zurich (Switzerland) and Brussels (Belgium), respectively.
After breaking the record Rudisha announced he would attempt to reduce it to 1:39, saying: “To come here and break the world record is something unbelievable.
“I was well prepared this year and I had no doubt about winning. But I was waiting for perfect conditions to break the world record because I knew this year I was in the shape to run 1.40.
Weather was beautiful
“But today the weather was beautiful so I decided just to go for it.”
When asked whether he was the greatest 800m runner in history, he said: “Yeah, I’m still running, so I believe I’m going to maintain for a couple of years. I want to become a legend in 800.”
The police officer’s performance in London made him the first athlete over the distance to break his own record three times.
As well as being the first to go below 1:41, he broke his own world record which he set back in 2010.
