David Rudisha’s long-standing record of 1:40.91, set during the 2012 London Olympic Games, remains intact, and he remains uncertain if it will be broken anytime soon.
The world 800m record holder expressed his uncertainty about who might surpass his achievement, which has endured for over a decade. Rudisha made history in 2012, becoming the first man to run the 800m under one minute and 41 seconds, clocking in at 1:40.91, and winning gold in his debut Olympic final at just 23 years old.
The men’s 800m field in 2024 saw numerous record-breaking performances, leading to speculation about the future of the event. As the season looks ahead to the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo, Rudisha has been keeping a close eye on the developments. “It tells you that it’s also a very tight world record,” Rudisha told World Athletics, explaining that while it’s a difficult record to break, it’s not impossible. “I can’t predict that one,” Rudisha said when asked who might break his record. “It is hard to say, but these guys are in good form. Let’s see how they are going to progress. This is the year they have shown that they can really push themselves to the limit.”
Emmanuel Wanyonyi, one of the rising stars in the 800m, has been leading the charge in rewriting the all-time list. In August 2024, the 20-year-old Kenyan won the Paris Olympic gold medal with a time of 1:41.19, just edging out Canada’s Marco Arop. Twelve days later, Wanyonyi lowered his personal best to 1:41.11, tying Wilson Kipketer for second place on the all-time list, just 0.2 seconds shy of Rudisha’s record.
Reflecting on the history of the 800m, Rudisha pointed out that since World Athletics President Sebastian Coe set a then world record of 1:41.73 in Florence 43 years ago, the world record has been lowered by less than a minute.
