Rudisha leads Kenya charge in final showdown

All eyes will be on David Rudisha when he leads a delegation of 10 Kenyans as part of the Africa team in the IAAF Continental Cup action in Split City, Croatia, on Saturday.

After crushing the opposition in their respective disciplines at the Africa Athletics Championship in Nairobi, the team will now focus of reclaiming the title from the grip of Europe.

America and Asia/Pacific are the other continents that will be taking part in the competition that was previously known as the Athletics World Cup. Rudisha has made the 800m the race the continent will be keen to follow.

The six-foot-three-inch-tall runner shaved 0.02 seconds off Wilson’s Kipketer’s World 800m record with a stunning 1:41:09 run in Berlin a fortnight ago before running an astonishing 1:41:0 in Rieti last Sunday.

With the Continental Cup his last event of the season, Rudisha has promised to give his best. He will be expected to claim maximum points for Africa in Split. “I just want to run a good race. Time is not important now because everyone will be keen to win the race. After the two fast times in Rieti and Berlin, I believe I should go slow and see how the opposition reacts,” said Rudisha.

He has already pulled out of the Kenya team to the Commonwealth Games in Delhi from October 4. Among Rudisha’s main opposition will be Marcin Lewandowski (1:44.30) of Poland and Michael Rimmer (1:43.89) of Great Britain – the one-two at the European Championships. US champion Nick Symmonds (1:43.76) might also be a threat.

Powerful three-man team

Africa’s powerful three-man 1,500m team will be led by Olympic champion Asbel Kiprop (Kenya), who will be confident of adding another title to his already impressive list. African Championships silver medallist Amine Laalou of Morocco (3:29.53) is the second fastest on the 2010 World Lists and is another danger, as is Ethiopia’s consistent Mekonnen Gebremedhin (3:31.57).

The main challenge to African dominance could come from 20-year-old Australian prodigy Ryan Gregson (Asia/Pacific), who set a 3:31.06 national record in Monaco. Other challenges include US athlete Lopez Lomong (Americas) and European champion Arturo Casado of Spain.

World Indoor champion Bernard Lagat will be among the main contenders for the 3,000m glory. Having been a 1,500m and 5,000m World champion, many regard the seven-and-a-half-lap distance the US athlete’s ideal trip. His chief threat is likely to be Ethiopia’s world leader Tariku Bekele, who recorded a blistering 7:28.99 in Berlin.

Other notables include European 5,000m and 10,000m champion Mo Farah (Great Britain) and the second-string African Vincent Yator of Kenya. Both Lagat and Farah are also in the 5,000m action and the pair will again expect their chief threat to come from a three-pronged African challenge.

Diamond League winner Imane Merga (Ethiopia) will be oozing confidence following a superb year. African champion Edwin Soi (Kenya) will also fancy his chances, as will Moses Kipsiro (Uganda), a former World 5,000m bronze medallist. With the Continental Cup adopting a rule of one country per event, the lone Kenyan in the three-man African team for the 3,000m steeplechase is Richard Mateelong, the World silver and Olympic bronze medallist.

World Champion Ezekiel Kemboi and Olympic winner Brimin Kipruto will be at home watching as they plot to regroup in Delhi for the Commonwealth Games. Predictably, Mateelong will be a major threat, but he might not have his way. Benjamin Kiplagat of Uganda (8:03.81) and third-string African Roba Gari, who set an Ethiopian record of 8:10.29 earlier this year, will also fancy their chances.

The main danger to Mateelong however lies in Europe’s Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad (8:02.52). The Frenchman landed Olympic silver in 2008 and bagged the European title in Barcelona this year. But having secured her first revenge against 800m world champion Caster Semenya in Brussels, the last leg of the Diamond League, Kenya’s Janeth Jepkosgei, the Olympic silver medallist in Beijing, will be the centre of focus in the two-lap race.

Mariya Savinova has had an almost perfect season, winning the World Indoor and European titles, but her unbeaten streak came to an end in Brussels where Jepkosgei beat the Russian. The pair will be in Split and Savinova will be joined on the European team by World Indoor silver medallist Jenny Meadows, third at the World Championship.