I'm still King David: Olympics gold medallist Rudisha warns rivals ahead of 2017 Worlds

IN MONTE CARLO, MONACO

World and Olympic 800 metres champion David Rudisha may not have made the final shortlist for Friday's 2016 IAAF World Athlete of the Year Gala awards, but the Kenyan track great is remaining focused with a third straight Olympic title on his mind.

He will be 31 when the Games are held in Tokyo in 2020, and the Eldoret-based Kenya Police Inspector has already thrown down the gauntlet, telling pretenders to the throne that he is still "King David."

Rudisha, also the world record-holder over the distance, told a global media conference in Monaco on Thursday ahead of Friday's IAAF World Athlete of the Year Awards Gala that he's not over the hill yet and is very much focused on leaving a solid legacy on the track.

Friday's IAAF Gala will see the crowning of the male and female athletes of the year along with the top coach, journalist and most promising athletes.

Jamaican sprints legend Usain Bolt, Great Britain's double World and Olympic distance running champion Mo Farah and South Africa's world 400 metres record holder Wayde van Niekerk are on the shortlist for the men's top award.

On the women's side, Jamaica's double Olympic sprints champion Elaine Thompson, Olympic hammer throw champion Anita Wlodarczyk of Poland and Ethiopia's 10,000 metres world record-holder and Olympic champion Almaz Ayana are the women's finalists.

The Gala, an exclusive black-jacket-and-tie affair, will be held at the affluent Monte Carlo Sporting Club, hosted by IAAF President Sebastian Coe and the ruler of Monaco, Prince Albert II.

The principality of Monaco, well known for its glitz and glamour and famous as the home of the "haves and have yachts" hardly disappoints in throwing massive parties and is awash with track and field celebrities ready for tonight's huge bash.

The ubiquitous, latest Ferrari, Maserati and Lamborghini luxury cars here been a common feature at the Fairmont hotel which is hosting the global athletics celebrities and also the IAAF Council meeting.

SHIFT IN STRATEGY

Rudisha, a two-time world champion, who also has two Olympic gold medals, announced a shift in strategy for the 2017 season in which he will be gunning for a third title at the World Championships in London in August after victories in Daegu, South Korea (2011) and Beijing last year.

Rather than build up his season in Australia, Rudisha now says he will not go Down Under but shift his training "elsewhere" after consulting his coach Colm O'Connell.

"It will be a different start to the season and it's not going to be in Australia," Rudisha said at the Fairmont Monte Carlo Hotel after arriving from USA where he had joined Kenya-born American Bernard Lagat at a party celebrating Lagat's stellar running career.

"I've been talking to my manager James (Templeton) but I'm yet to talk to my coach to see if I might change and go somewhere between February and March to break the monotony of always training in Eldoret and starting the season in Australia."

Rudisha said defending his Olympic title in Tokyo is quite realistic.

"I'll be 31 years in 2020 and if I remain focused and concentrate I will be able to defend my title," said the Kenya Police Service star.

"At the Rio Olympics, I ran 1:42, almost 1:41 which is good."

Rudisha took a swipe at the management of Kenyan athletics, still he hoped distance running legend Haile Gebrselassie's election as president of the Ethiopian Athletics Federation will spur Kenyan athletes to take up roles in the management of the sport.

"It's time more retired athletes get into federations because they have a good understanding of the athletes and Haile's victory is an indication that athletes can manage federations," Rudisha said.

"Look, Seb Coe is the president of the IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations) and he was an athlete. This shows athletes can take the sport to a higher level."

Gebrselassie arrived for the Monaco gala Thursday afternoon along with Athletics Kenya President Jack Tuwei and chief executive Susan Kamau.

Rudisha will be seeking his hat-trick of World titles in London next year at the London Olympic Stadium in Stratford, East London, the scene of his amazing Olympic victory in 2012 which came in a world record time of 1:40.91.

The Kenyan also appealed for more aggression in the fight against doping saying national federations were not doing enough.

He also urged Kenyan athletics administrators to focus on athletes.

"The interests of athletes should be the priority of the federation. If the athletes are not comfortable, then you should not expect results," he said, regretting that the management of Kenyan sport is now dominating courtrooms with a myriad of cases facing administrators.