Wilfred Bungei is the Olympic champion

In the early years of the decade Wilfred Bungei swiftly became a prominent 800m runner. After a silver medal at the 2001 WC more titles for the young Kenyan looked inevitable. But despite being the fastest man of the season in 2003, 2004 and again in 2005 the big wins stayed out of reach: he fell ill during the Kenyan trials in 2003, came 5th at the 2004 Olympics, 4th at the 2005 WC and 5th again at the 2007 WC. A World Indoor title in 2006 was his only success. But in Beijing his fortunes were to change. Leading from start to finish he crowned his career with a well deserved Olympic gold medal. That big title was finally his.

   Result:
 1 Wilfred Bungei          KEN 1:44.65
 2 Ismail Ahmed Ismail     SUD 1:44.70
 3 Alfred Kirwa Yego       KEN 1:44.82
 4 Gary Reed               CAN 1:44.94
 5 Yusuf Saad Kamel        BRN 1:44.95
 6 Yeimer López            CUB 1:45.88
 7 Nabil Madi              ALG 1:45.96
 8 Nadjim Manseur          ALG 1:47.19

Champion at last. Bungei celebrates his Olympic victory. After many years of waiting that long overdue big title has finally come his way.

 Yuriy Borzakovskiy ready to defend his Olympic title

The line of favorites for Olympic gold gets longer and longer. Until a few weeks ago defending champion Yuriy Borzakovskiy hadn't made much of an impression, but in Monaco he was back to his glorious best - coming from way behind to beat the equally impressive Yusuf Saad Kamel by a few centimetres. For Kamel it was a PB - he had never broken 1:43 before. Behind them Mbulaeni Mulaudzi showed very consistent form with a strong seasons best and Gary Reed, second at last years World Championships, underlined his intentions with a new Canadian Record. Ismail, Rimmer and Lathouwers scored PB's as well, the latter two running their first 1:44.

   Result:
 1 Yuriy Borzakovskiy      RUS 1:42.79
 2 Yusuf Saad Kamel        BRN 1:42.79
 3 Mbulaeni Mulaudzi       RSA 1:43.26
 4 Gary Reed               CAN 1:43.68
 5 Ismail Ahmed Ismail     SUD 1:44.34
 6 Michael Rimmer          GBR 1:44.68
 7 Robert Lathouwers       NED 1:44.75
 8 Bram Som                NED 1:45.55
 9 Pawel Czapiewski        POL 1:46.76
10 Brice Etés              FRA 1:47.03

Tired but happy. Yuriy Borzakovskiy and Yusuf Saad Kamel have just congratulated each other with their superfast times in Monaco. Kamel had never ran a 1:42 before. The Russian had, but only once and it was way back in 2001.

 Mbulaeni Mulaudzi still going strong

Younger athletes like Kaki, Lopez and Rudisha have drawn a lot of attention this season so far, but in Madrid it was an established athlete who crossed the line first. Mbulaeni Mulaudzi showed he still knows how to win a fast race as he managed to stay ahead of yet another young aspiring runner, Abraham Chepkirwok, who despite setting a new PB could not quite match Mulaudzi's speed. It could be an enthralling battle in Bejing with several young talents challenging a number of more experienced athletes - Mulaudzi has as least shown that he is ready for the fight.

   Result:
 1 Mbulaeni Mulaudzi       RSA 1:43.64
 2 Abraham Chepkirwok      UGA 1:43.72
 3 Ismail Ahmed Ismail     SUD 1:44.47
 4 Manuel Olmedo           ESP 1:45.20
 5 Arturo Casado           ESP 1:45.69
 6 Mouhssin Chehibi        MAR 1:46.00
 7 Yuriy Koldin            RUS 1:46.24
 8 Juan Carlos Higuero     ESP 1:46.77 
 9 Bram Som                NED 1:46.84 
10 Eugenio Barrios         ESP 1:47.14

Mulaudzi manages to hold off the challenge by Chepkirwok to win in Madrid.

 Yeimar López joins the 800m world elite

Earlier in this season two young runners, Abubaker Kaki and David Rudisha, had already shown they could well be the new leaders on the 800m - now a third athlete has jumped into the limelight. Cuba's Yeimar López was a respectable 400m runner (PB of 45.11) when he decided to switch to the 800m a few years ago. A few injuries stalled his career, and a PB of well over 1:46 didn't exactly make many headlines. Last year he improved to 1:44.58, already an indication of things to come. In Jerez he made the big leap as he exploded to a stunning time of 1:43.07, easily second best of the season, beating a world class athlete like Mulaudzi in the process.

   Result:
 1 Yeimar López            CUB  1:43.07 
 2 Mbulaeni Mulaudzi       RSA  1:43.61 
 3 Mohcine Chehibi         MAR  1:46.10 
 4 Antonio Reina           ESP  1:46.26 
 5 Arturo Casado           ESP  1:46.39 
 6 José Cortés             ESP  1:46.50 
 7 Eugenio Barrios         ESP  1:46.68 
 8 Lachlan Renshaw         AUS  1:47.60 
 9 Nils Schumann           GER  1:47.91 
10 Luis Marco              ESP  1:48.43    
11 Reyes Estévez           ESP  1:49.49 

Yeimar López scored a brilliant win in Jerez in the second fastest time of the year.

 Abubaker Kaki wins brilliantly in Oslo

Ever since the retirement of Wilson Kipketer marks below 1:43 have become very rare. The last time it had been done was as long ago as 2003 when Bungei and Mulaudzi both recorded 1:42 marks in Brussels.

But there is a new phenomenon at the 800 and his star is rising at breathtaking speed. Until November Kaki had not even broken 1:45, but he suddenly produced 1:43.90. Next he won the World Indoor title with a magnificent solo effort. In Oslo he outdid himself once more. Mbulaeni Mulaudzi, holder of the seasons best time for the past two years, and David Rudisha, junior world champion and one of Kenya's brightest talents could only watch as Kaki finished in a stunning time of 1:42.69, improving himself by well over a second and moving himself up to joined 11th place on the all time world list.

Wilson Kipketers 1:41.11 world record mark was thought to be untouchable for many a year to come. But if Kaki can improve himself any further even the 1:41 barrier may no longer be safe.

  Result:
1 Abubaker Kaki            SUD  1:42.69
2 David Rudisha            KEN  1:43.72 
3 Mbulaeni Mulaudzi        RSA  1:44.04
4 Mohammed Al-Salhi        KSA  1:44.83
5 Abraham Chepkirwok       UGA  1:45.45
6 Jeff Riseley             AUS  1:46.40
7 Antonio Reina            ESP  1:46.95
8 Sam Ellis                GBR  1:48.15
9 David Fiegen             LUX  1:48.55

Even Abubaker Kaki feels the pain of the last few strides of an ultra-fast 800 meter race. David Rudisha and Mbulaeni Mulaudzi will run excellent times themselves, but can only watch as the impressive Kaki finishes way ahead of them.

 Abubaker Kaki convincingly speeds to World Indoor Title

On paper Abubaker Kaki was one of the fastest athletes in the field, but the opposition was tough. Mulaudzi was Indoor World Champion in 2004, Saad Kamel and Milkevics are among the world elite and Bogdanov and Symmonds have been around for years as well. All of them had more experience than young Kaki. Did that bother him? Not in the least.

Kaki went away at full speed and immediately took the lead. He reached halfway in a very fast 51.26. Mulaudzi closed a bit on lap three, holding off Saad Kamel, waiting for Kaki to crumble on the final lap. But Kaki put in another burst, and although Mulaudzi came very close it was the young Sudanese runner who finished finished and also became the youngest ever World Indoor Champion.

The statistics of this terrific race speak for themselves. Kaki became world leader (indoor and outdoor) is now fifth fastest indoor of all time and only just missed Mutua's African record. An Asian record for Saad Kamel. New national records for Mulaudzi and Milkevics and personal bests for all six athletes. A wonderful triumph for this bright young talent. And surely not his last either.

  Result:
1 Abubaker Kaki            SUD  1:44.81
2 Mbulaeni Mulaudzi        RSA  1:44.91
3 Youssef Saad Kamel       BRN  1:45.26
4 Dmitrijs Milkevics       LAT  1:45.72
5 Dmitriy Bogdanov         RUS  1:45.76
6 Nick Symmonds            USA  1:46.48

Abubaker Kaki raises his arm in triumph after his bold tactics pay off. Mbulaeni Mulaudi and Youssef Saad Kamel are unable to catch him and have to settle for silver and bronze respectively.