Rudisha Breaks World Record - Men's 800m Final | London 2012 Olympics 

This might be the greatest race ever run, when you look at the individual performances of each runner: There was a World Record, a World Junior Record, 3 National Records, 7 Personal Bests, and 1 Season Best set in this race!! Now in Nov 2019, the World Record and Junior World Record still stand, and 7 of the 8 men who ran that final, never ran faster again! Historic!

A small note on just how fast everyone was in this race. 8th postion in this race was a whole second faster than the gold medal time in the tokyo 2020 olympics!

To note how insane this race was, last position time of 1:43:77 would have won gold at Tokyo 2020, Beijing 2008, Athens 2004 and Sydney 2000.

Not only did he break the 800m WR he was 1.3 seconds away from breaking the 600m world record. Just a mind boggling performance

This man has the most beautiful running style Ive ever seen.

Am I the only one who comes back like once a week to watch this?

Imagine running 1:43.77 and getting last...the depth of the field in this race as well as Rudisha pulling everyone along to extremely fast times... crazy

His running style is so technically perfect and smooth that he doesn't look like he's running, he looks like he's floating.

Nick Symmonds threw in 10-15 sticks of run gum for that last 100m

Not only is Rudisha a beast but he also has such a poetic stride

Just my opinion…the greatest race in history. Every single athlete went out at 100% for the full 800. This is what an Olympic race should look like.

If that isn’t the Best Running form in Athletics then I don’t know! 🙌🏽

The fact that the top 3 broke the previous Olympic Record makes this race even more historic

The fact that the last place finisher was under 1:44 showed how fast this race really was. Amazing.

He looks like he is chilling while running 49sec 400m. What a beast of a stride. Absolutely insane.

His stride should be on display in every museum. He looks just as smooth in the last three steps as the first three.

To understand their speed: 1:40.91 for 800meters => 12.5s for 100meters

If I ever run a 1:43 in the 800m, and come last, I'm killing everybody!

10 years on and I still keep coming back to this race.

There aren't enough superlatives to describe this race. I saw it live at age 15 and i've come back to watch it every year since. Simply put, there will never be a human better designed to race two laps around the track than Rudisha. It's an event where most of the records have had pacemakers, and the second lap usually a second or two slower. But he ran it wire to wire without anyone in sight and with nearly identical laps. Partially because of this race I became an 800 runner, and although I never broke 2 minutes, I loved it. It truly is an event for the masochists. You run just about as hard as you can...and then you still have to do another lap. You tie up in the last 150m and your legs feel like they're being crushed 5 miles beneath sea level and simultaneously being roasted inside the sun. If you're doing it correctly, you see double and your lungs feel like they're bleeding. When you get it wrong, you can barely move in the finishing straight and everyone passes you. Rudisha ran the absolute perfect half mile race anyone will ever do and he looked completely effortless. I'm not religious but watching this makes me believe in something!

If you ever feel useless just remember there's a bell for the 800m

I love how the athletes are all respectful for each other in track. A lot more good sportsmanship than football

Last place in this race got faster than the winner in Tokyo. Just shows how crazy this race was

8 years later I still get goose bumps watching this race. Greatest 800m race and it happened in our lifetime. Thank you to David Rudisha and all the athletes that ran this beautiful race.

Those guys from Kenya are so humble.

That's how you run a 800!! The fact that he didn't even look tired after just shows how ready he was for this race amazing

Rudisha has the most aesthetically pleasing running form ive seen, so smooth

Hearing that crowd showed me what we’re missing in Tokyo, 2021.

Makes me happy because I know Nick Symmonds and it was suprise seeing him here

This race was crazy. Not only did Rudisha break the world record, but let's also acknowledge Nijel Amos the 18 year old and Timothy Kitum the 17 year old who both ran faster than the Olympic record in this race too.

hands down the greatest 800m race of all time

I keep coming back and just can't grasp how incredible this was

I'm a long distance runner and I can't stop watching this race. For sure the greatest performance I have ever witnessed on the track. The power and dominance of Rudisha during the race and the emotion after the finish, simply amazing. Olympic Gold and world record in the same race, greatest race of all time.

I revisit this race all the time. I was twelve at this Olympics and it was a weird time for me to watch live as an Australian, but I remember watching this and immediately knowing this would be one of the most impactful track moments in history. His stride, his humility, the fearless competitors, the stunning stadium & crowd... This is an art form. To watch him succeed again in 2016 (despite a horrible lead-up) in similar fashion, to me, confirms Rudisha as a once-in-a-lifetime athlete who is perhaps the best of all time in this event.

I return to this race every few months when I need a pick-me-up. The best race of all time.

Yes, i totally agree, .. rudisha has such a beautiful stride n grace over 2rds at the olympic final. Really awesome olympic final. Tks 4 video.

This has got to be one of the highest quality Olympic final distance races ever, or distance races in track & field ever, period. Nick Symmonds went through the 400m split in about 50.4 seconds...in last place! The last place finisher, Osagie, was 1:43.7. Rudisha's world record is one thing, but when someone runs 1:43 and finishes last, that is just incredible.

Wow, what an unbelievable stride.

Unbelievable. What a race. Lost count how many times I have watched this. Shout out to the Commentator. He was also at is best.

Can’t stop watching this - the greatest race ever!

Well the secret is clearly not to wear bright green shoes

It looks easy when you see them running the 800 , but i can tell you the PAIN from the LACTIC ACID they going through are unimaginable. I ran the 800m back in high school and i can tell you that 800m is much more of a mans race than the 100m

one of the most underrated sports performances ever

What I remember about this race was the interview after and he said the words somewhere along the lines of "It was a beautiful day, and I said "just go for it".....it was one of the most stirring things I heard from an athlete. He deserved his win.

i feel so bad for rudisha cos bolt ran the same night so everyone forgot about this and the papers just had bolt and not rudisha

Every single person ran the fastest time they have ever run! Amazing!

I remember watching this race when I had a very difficult academic challenge. Literally teared up at Rudisha performance and it gave me the spirit to win. Got a distinction. The focus, preparation and talent was incredible to watch.

Rudisha is the athlete that makes other athletes break their own records

The greatest 800m race in human history！！

The pace and world Record he set are truly phenomenal. But the HUMILITY before and after the race.... that's something else. No signs or poses or nothing... just a smile. Now this a Living legend.,both in the track and in character.

If you only watch one 800m final - this is the one to watch. I doubt if anyone will take on two laps and make it look as easy as this guy. Breathtaking performance.

amongst all this chaos, Botswana got its first ever medal at an Olympic Games

This is still the race I go back to for motivation. I live near the Olympic stadium and every time I go by I think of Rudisha setting the WR there.

Rudisha is incredible! He is literally sprinting half a mile!

Best 800 meters ever run by a human being. Hopefully this record stays for a long long time as a tribute of Rudisha´s greatness

Rudisha and Alyson Felix are such a joy to watch when they run. Probably the most graceful runners I have ever seen.

But who saw the white bro go from last to 5th in the last 50m

His strides were so strong and perfect from beginning to the end what a run...one of the greatest

At random times during the day while jogging or biking, I replay in my head the way the commentator says, “what’s the time, it’s a world recooooooooord, a world record”.

From this video, I can see how being humble can take you very far. Somebody look at the way Rudisha was behaving before the race. He was the most humble and composed athlete. God bless you Rudisha.

im still amazed at the fact that the last place time in london (8 Andrew OSAGIE GBR 1:43.77) was better than the gold medalist in Beijing (1 Wilfred BUNGEI KEN 1:44.65)

Truly remarkable. When someone like that comes along and makes others perform greater.. An entire field surpassing what most think is possible. You watch the olympics for great competition, but also for the chance that someone truly remarkable, or someones, might make their presence known on the world stage.

I watch this race every few months to repump my motivation and focus. Wow. What a race.

We love you Rudisha....all the way from Nairobi Kenya...uve made our country proud of you....God bless you

Today, 8 years ago. When we need something to cheer us up, we come here to watch this race

His stride! his form! just beautiful, so smooth

London Olympics had the best crowd.......gosh. the Olympics should be held in England. They cheer for everything and anybody. This alone boost morals. Love love the atmosphere.

Still watching in October 2019...Rudisha you will go down history as the world's best of all times.

Bolt is great, Phelps is great....But Rudisha is THE MAN.

A decade on now and I still haven't seen a better race. A world record in an Olympic final, leading an 800 wire to wire... absurd. Rudisha is a legend forever

The last place guy in this race would have won gold in Tokyo by 20 meters for that time.

The kick around the 500 meter mark as they come off the turn is really something to see...he just pulls the field behind him like a freight train

I remember watching this at the time and crying. My Mum had heard on the Irish radio that we all had to watch this amazing Maasai runner trained by an Irishman who was just a missionary who went to Kenya in the 70s. Rudisha is an amazing athlete in a time of so many people cheating.

I think it’s hilarious how it’s all tall, slim, black guys and then there’s Nick - the short, bulky, white guy.

No ego, no disrespect for the opponent just pure sportsmanship among them all. Love it.

i remember watching this back in 2012, with my campus mates and the moment he got to the bell and the commentator said its fast, we were up on our feet others on top of seats shouting world record coz we knew something special was about to unfold. And to think of it, no one was concerned about Kitum in 3rd only to realize later in the standings he was actually a bronze medalist was absolutely incredible. 4 years later i still comeback to this piece and it brings back the memories. Lovely!

The 800 is the hardest event in my opinion

11 years on and I am still in AWE of this run. Absolutely incredible.

An Olympics video where the sound is in sync! It's a miracle!

He destroyed the field from gun to tape with no rabbits. Who has ever done this in the two lap event?? This was magical .

who is here watching this in 2019? RUDISHA is a beast!!!!!!

He was my class mate it's 2021 still watching I was with him in the same high school I was the class prefect form 2005_2008 thank you Rudisha thank you I have never achieved what you have but you still remember when I told you that you will be great ...he was clueless in form one he did not know he could run haha I was actually faster than him in 100 and 200 m

Beating your own WR over and over again takes so much will power.

kenyans we are proud of him

I get emotional by watching this video. We are truly amazing beings and it´s so wonderful seeing these athletes proving it.

Look how far he brings his arms back. So beautiful. I aspire to race like that

Najivunia kuwa Mkenya: I'm proud to be Kenyan! ❤️❤️

This never gets old!

Rudisha's stride length is 8.5 foot (2.6 meters)! Truly amazing!

Am a kenyan and I can barely even finish a flight of stairs without my heart pounding like a drum lmao. And I see this I feel proud, thanks rudisha for doing us proud. Kenya to the world 👊

Running form of David Rudisha 🔥

Rudisha's performance deserved a lot more recognition. I agree with Coe, I put it above Bolt's, who was far from the form of his 2008 or 2009 season.

That is a beautiful running stride.

I always find my self coming back to this race, it’s perfection.

How I love watching this race. It's amazing how new athletes burst into the scene. Kenya, the home of talent. Tokyo 2020 gives birth to another 800m champion from the land of raw talent, Kenya. But do I say? 🙏💪💪

Beyond the obvious superlatives about Rudisha, he has one of THE most beautiful forms I’ve ever seen. Just looks so graceful.

His stride for the last 100m. Oh my god. He takes like 40 steps!!! His stride is immaculate

This man is dangerous. So smooth,so perfect,his form is undeniably the best

And this is the 50th time watching this clip. I won't stop watching it.

I wish I could run away from my problems like he did this race!!! This was simply amazing!!!!