adidas Grand Prix 2013May 24, 2013 by David Monti
Rudisha's Coach Urges Patience on World Record Improvement
Rudisha's Coach Urges Patience on World Record Improvement
RUDISHA'S COACH URGES PATIENCE ON WORLD RECORD IMPROVEMENT
By David Monti
(c) 2013 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved. Used with permission.
NEW YORK (24-May) -- When Kenya's David Rudisha broke the world record on his way to winning his first Olympic 800m title last August in London, one of the most surprised people in the stadium was his trainer, Brother Colm O'Connell. The self-taught Irish coach who has been identifying and developing talent in Kenya for more than three decades, didn't see 1:40.91 coming.
"London, in its own context, was a once-off," Colm said in an interview with Race Results Weekly here today. "Olympic final, all the pressure, all the expectations. The main objective was to win the gold medal, not the world record. In a sense, the world record shouldn't upstage the fact that he won a gold medal."
Since that incredible race --where eight men ran sub-1:44-- interest in seeing the first sub-1:40 for 800m has snowballed. Rudisha is less than a second away, the refrain goes. It can't be long before that barrier is broken.
But Colm, an astute student of the sport who coached the previous world record holder Wilson Kipketer, said such a mark will be extremely difficult to achieve, even for the powerful Rudisha. He asserted it "may be even tougher" than breaking two hours for the marathon.
"When you look at 800 meters, 1:40.91, you must realize that only three people have held the world record in 800m in 32 years, from 1981 to now," the professorial Colm explained. "From the first one, Sebastian Coe in 1981, to the third one, David Rudisha in 2012, they still haven't removed a second in 32 years. Now, put that in context with what people are saying: Is it possible to break 1:40? Only point-eight of a second has been removed in 32 years. David still has to remove over point-eight of a second."
He added: "The 1:40? I think that would be a superhuman effort."
There is no chance of it occurring here at tomorrow's adidas Grand Prix, the third stop of the 2013 IAAF Diamond League. Indeed, Rudisha's own meeting record of 1:41.74, set last year in sunny and warm conditions, is almost out of the question given the forecast for chilly temperatures, rain and strong winds. Rudisha said he would be ready to run well, nonetheless.
"You know, weather, you can't change weather," Rudisha told reporters here today. "It's something we just have to adapt. We normally prefer to get good weather for good performance."
For Colm, tomorrow's race is part of a deliberate progression toward Moscow in August when Rudisha will defend his world title, his primary goal for this season.
"We're still kind of building on that approach," Colm said of the building blocks of Rudisha's successful 2012 campaign. "Last year leading up to the Olympics, every race for David was a quality race. He ran few races, but every one had a reason, and was a step towards London. That's been his approach... and that will be our approach this year."
Rudisha, 24, who is married and has a three year-old daughter, opened his season in Nairobi on May 3, with a 400m race, clocking 45.5 at high altitude. He decided to skip his usual season opener in Australia so that he could stay closer to home and focus more on training. Colm said that winter training had a late start due to Rudisha's many post-Olympic obligations.
"He ran very well, very solid," Colm observed of the Nairobi performance.
In his first Diamond League appearance in Doha on May 10, he ran a well-controlled race, winning in 1:43.87. And, despite the challenging weather here, Rudisha said he hopes to improve on that performance tomorrow.
"Tomorrow I'm looking for another good run, another season's best," he said.
Colm, 64, has been coaching Rudisha for almost ten years. Working with him, he said, has helped build his knowledge and honed his approach to coaching.
"Different athletes come at different times in your life as a coach," Colm said. "Very often an athlete comes at a time when you're looking for something as a coach." He continued: "All of them have a contribution to make to the program and to my own coaching, my own approach to coaching. I learned from all of them."
As for Rudisha, he doesn't have the world record foremost in his mind this year. He's a methodical athlete who keeps his eye on winning, and less so on the clock.
"Going to Moscow my aim is to defend my title," he said. "That is the most important thing. I know people expect me maybe to do something, to run another fast time, but it also depends on the day, the conditions of the day."
By David Monti
(c) 2013 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved. Used with permission.
NEW YORK (24-May) -- When Kenya's David Rudisha broke the world record on his way to winning his first Olympic 800m title last August in London, one of the most surprised people in the stadium was his trainer, Brother Colm O'Connell. The self-taught Irish coach who has been identifying and developing talent in Kenya for more than three decades, didn't see 1:40.91 coming.
"London, in its own context, was a once-off," Colm said in an interview with Race Results Weekly here today. "Olympic final, all the pressure, all the expectations. The main objective was to win the gold medal, not the world record. In a sense, the world record shouldn't upstage the fact that he won a gold medal."
Since that incredible race --where eight men ran sub-1:44-- interest in seeing the first sub-1:40 for 800m has snowballed. Rudisha is less than a second away, the refrain goes. It can't be long before that barrier is broken.
But Colm, an astute student of the sport who coached the previous world record holder Wilson Kipketer, said such a mark will be extremely difficult to achieve, even for the powerful Rudisha. He asserted it "may be even tougher" than breaking two hours for the marathon.
"When you look at 800 meters, 1:40.91, you must realize that only three people have held the world record in 800m in 32 years, from 1981 to now," the professorial Colm explained. "From the first one, Sebastian Coe in 1981, to the third one, David Rudisha in 2012, they still haven't removed a second in 32 years. Now, put that in context with what people are saying: Is it possible to break 1:40? Only point-eight of a second has been removed in 32 years. David still has to remove over point-eight of a second."
He added: "The 1:40? I think that would be a superhuman effort."
There is no chance of it occurring here at tomorrow's adidas Grand Prix, the third stop of the 2013 IAAF Diamond League. Indeed, Rudisha's own meeting record of 1:41.74, set last year in sunny and warm conditions, is almost out of the question given the forecast for chilly temperatures, rain and strong winds. Rudisha said he would be ready to run well, nonetheless.
"You know, weather, you can't change weather," Rudisha told reporters here today. "It's something we just have to adapt. We normally prefer to get good weather for good performance."
For Colm, tomorrow's race is part of a deliberate progression toward Moscow in August when Rudisha will defend his world title, his primary goal for this season.
"We're still kind of building on that approach," Colm said of the building blocks of Rudisha's successful 2012 campaign. "Last year leading up to the Olympics, every race for David was a quality race. He ran few races, but every one had a reason, and was a step towards London. That's been his approach... and that will be our approach this year."
Rudisha, 24, who is married and has a three year-old daughter, opened his season in Nairobi on May 3, with a 400m race, clocking 45.5 at high altitude. He decided to skip his usual season opener in Australia so that he could stay closer to home and focus more on training. Colm said that winter training had a late start due to Rudisha's many post-Olympic obligations.
"He ran very well, very solid," Colm observed of the Nairobi performance.
In his first Diamond League appearance in Doha on May 10, he ran a well-controlled race, winning in 1:43.87. And, despite the challenging weather here, Rudisha said he hopes to improve on that performance tomorrow.
"Tomorrow I'm looking for another good run, another season's best," he said.
Colm, 64, has been coaching Rudisha for almost ten years. Working with him, he said, has helped build his knowledge and honed his approach to coaching.
"Different athletes come at different times in your life as a coach," Colm said. "Very often an athlete comes at a time when you're looking for something as a coach." He continued: "All of them have a contribution to make to the program and to my own coaching, my own approach to coaching. I learned from all of them."
As for Rudisha, he doesn't have the world record foremost in his mind this year. He's a methodical athlete who keeps his eye on winning, and less so on the clock.
"Going to Moscow my aim is to defend my title," he said. "That is the most important thing. I know people expect me maybe to do something, to run another fast time, but it also depends on the day, the conditions of the day."
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