{"id":409,"date":"2010-10-14T15:12:00","date_gmt":"2010-10-14T22:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=409"},"modified":"2010-10-14T15:12:00","modified_gmt":"2010-10-14T22:12:00","slug":"male-athlete-of-the-year-david-rudisha","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=409","title":{"rendered":"Male Athlete of the Year \u2013 David Rudisha"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"float:left;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/view.picapp.com\/pictures.photo\/sports\/istaf-2010-iaaf-world\/image\/9579787?term=david+rudisha\" target=\"_blank\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/view1.picapp.com\/pictures.photo\/image\/9579787\/istaf-2010-iaaf-world\/istaf-2010-iaaf-world.jpg?resize=380%2C252\" border=\"0\" width=\"380\" title=\"ISTAF 2010 - IAAF World Challenge\" height=\"252\" oncontextmenu=\"return false;\" ondrag=\"return false;\" onmousedown=\"return false;\" alt=\"BERLIN - AUGUST 22: David Lekuta Rudisha of Kenya celebrates the victory and the new world record in the men's 800m during the IAAF World Challenge ISTAF 2010 at the Olympic Stadium on August 22, 2010 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Boris Streubel\/Bongarts\/Getty Images)\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div style=\"clear:left;height:0px;overflow: hidden;\"><\/div>\n<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"http:\/\/view.picapp.com\/\/JavaScripts\/OTIjs.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>With the 2010 season now officially over in my book with the closing of the Commonwealth Games, I think it\u2019s safe to dole out major accolades for the season. I started earlier with a look at the <a href=\"http:\/\/theviewfromthefinishline.blogspot.com\/2010\/09\/top-breakthrough-americans-of-2010.html\" target=\"_blank\">Top Breakthrough Americans<\/a> this year and hope to continue with other segments of the sport. But of course the biggie each year, and one that has already started lots of conversation, is the annual selection of Male and Female Athletes of the Year.<\/p>\n<p>So, I think it\u2019s safe to pick up my year end review with my selection of the Male Athlete of the Year. <\/p>\n<p>In an average season it\u2019s fairly easy to pick out an AOY as someone usually steps up early and separates from the pack. This year however, there were several athletes stepping up early, with the name \u201cDavid\u201d reaching the top of most lists by the start of the summer. That being David Oliver (US) and David Rudisha (KEN). <\/p>\n<p>Both athletes had superb seasons. Each made significant impacts on the all time lists. Both established new national records \u2013 no mean feat given the history of both American hurdlers and of Kenyan half milers \u2013 and both went undefeated.<\/p>\n<p>For me it was a neck and neck race throughout the summer until August 22nd, because on that day Rudisha ran 1:41.09 to take down Wilson Kipketer\u2019s twelve year old WR (1:41.11) to stake his claim as the best half miler in history. One week later, Rudisha did it again going 1:41.01 for his second WR in the event and with it taking the title of the year\u2019s most outstanding male as two WR\u2019s trump two AR\u2019s in my book.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve seen many conversations on the net asking whether or not Rudisha did enough to warrant being the Athlete of the Year on many message boards. \u201cDid he compete enough?\u201d being the prime question. To that I say \u2013 absolutely. Rudisha started the season back on February 27th with a PR 45.00 \u2013 making him #48 on the world list this year. Not bad for a half miler who ran the event only once. A nice <a href=\"http:\/\/theviewfromthefinishline.blogspot.com\/2010\/03\/david-rudisha-next-super-star.html\" target=\"_blank\">foreshadowing<\/a> of what was to come.<\/p>\n<p>He then opened in the 800 a few days <a href=\"http:\/\/theviewfromthefinishline.blogspot.com\/2010\/03\/rudisha-sizzles-in-800-opener.html\" target=\"_blank\">later<\/a> (Mar 4th) with a sizzling 1:43.15, and it was clear that his season was going to be something special. How special? Take a look at his 2010 performance list.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<table border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"2\" width=\"400\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"133\">\n<h3>Time<\/h3>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"133\">\n<h3>Location<\/h3>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"133\">\n<h3>Date<\/h3>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"133\">&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"133\">&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"133\">&nbsp;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"133\">1:41.01<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"133\">Rieti<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"133\">Aug 29<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"133\">1:41.09<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"133\">Berlin<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"133\">Aug 22<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"133\">1:41.51<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"133\">Heusden-Zolder<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"133\">Jul 10<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"133\">1:42.04<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"133\">Oslo<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"133\">Jun 4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"133\">1:42.84<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"133\">Nairobi<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"133\">Jul 30<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"133\">1:43.00<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"133\">Doha<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"133\">May 14<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"133\">1:43.15<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"133\">Melbourne<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"133\">Mar 4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"133\">1:43.25<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"133\">Lausanne<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"133\">Jul 8<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"133\">1:43.37<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"133\">Split <\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"133\">Sep 5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"133\">1:43.50<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"133\">Brussels<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"133\">Aug 27<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"133\">1:44.03<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"133\">Ostrava<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"133\">May 27<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"133\">1:44.23<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"133\">Nairobi<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"133\">Jun 26<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>Outstanding running with the top two performances in history, the #5 performance, and the #11 performance. His 1:41.51 was good enough to lead any season in history other than Kipketer\u2019s WR season. His 1:42.04 would have lead all but 5 seasons in history. And only twice did he fail to run below 1:44. In my book Rudisha more than competed enough to go with unquestioned quality. <\/p>\n<p>My Runner Up is just as clear with David Oliver also having a season for the ages. Undefeated. American Records of 12.90 and 12.89 (making him #3 all time), only .02 off the WR, and five meets under 13.00.<\/p>\n<p>The degree of \u201cperfection\u201d was high this year performance wise. You couldn\u2019t falter at all and be in the hunt for Athlete of the Year. Following are a handful of athletes that dominated the competition and had only a hiccup or so along the way, yet were left out of the conversation among the top two. So Honorable Mentions to:<\/p>\n<table border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"2\" width=\"400\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"200\">Tyson Gay <\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"200\">100\/200\/400<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"200\">Christian Cantwell<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"200\">Shot Put<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"200\">Koji Murofushi<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"200\">Discus<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"200\">Andreas Thorkildsen<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"200\">Javelin<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"200\">Bershawn Jackson<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"200\">400 Hurdles<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>As all had outstanding seasons. David Rudisha, however, had a magnificent, all conquering, historical kind of season. Making him my Male Athlete of the Year for 2010.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With the 2010 season now officially over in my book with the closing of the Commonwealth Games, I think it\u2019s safe to dole out major accolades for the season. I started earlier with a look at the Top Breakthrough Americans this year and hope to continue with other segments of the sport. But of course the biggie each year, and one that has already started lots of conversation, is the annual selection of Male and Female Athletes of the Year. So, I think it\u2019s safe to pick up my year end review with my selection of the Male Athlete of the Year. In an average season it\u2019s fairly easy to pick out an AOY as someone usually steps up early and separates from the pack. This year however, there were several athletes stepping up early, with the name \u201cDavid\u201d reaching the top of most lists by the start of the summer. That being David Oliver (US) and David Rudisha (KEN). Both athletes had superb seasons. Each made significant impacts on the all time lists. Both established new national records \u2013 no mean feat given the history of both American hurdlers and of Kenyan half milers \u2013 and both went undefeated. For me it was a neck and neck race throughout the summer until August 22nd, because on that day Rudisha ran 1:41.09 to take down Wilson Kipketer\u2019s twelve year old WR (1:41.11) to stake his claim as the best half miler in history. One week later, Rudisha did it again going 1:41.01 for his second WR in the event and with it taking the title of the year\u2019s most outstanding male as two WR\u2019s trump two AR\u2019s in my book. I\u2019ve seen many conversations on the net asking whether or not Rudisha did enough to warrant being the Athlete of the Year on many message boards. \u201cDid he compete enough?\u201d being the prime question. To that I say \u2013 absolutely. Rudisha started the season back on February 27th with a PR 45.00 \u2013 making him #48 on the world list this year. Not bad for a half miler who ran the event only once. A nice foreshadowing of what was to come. He then opened in the 800 a few days later (Mar 4th) with a sizzling 1:43.15, and it was clear that his season was going to be something special. How special? Take a look at his 2010 performance list. &nbsp; Time Location Date &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 1:41.01 Rieti Aug 29 1:41.09 Berlin Aug 22 1:41.51 Heusden-Zolder Jul 10 1:42.04 Oslo Jun 4 1:42.84 Nairobi Jul 30 1:43.00 Doha May 14 1:43.15 Melbourne Mar 4 1:43.25 Lausanne Jul 8 1:43.37 Split Sep 5 1:43.50 Brussels Aug 27 1:44.03 Ostrava May 27 1:44.23 Nairobi Jun 26 Outstanding running with the top two performances in history, the #5 performance, and the #11 performance. His 1:41.51 was good enough to lead any season in history other than Kipketer\u2019s WR season. His 1:42.04 would have lead all but 5 seasons in history. And only twice did he fail to run below 1:44. In my book Rudisha more than competed enough to go with unquestioned quality. My Runner Up is just as clear with David Oliver also having a season for the ages. Undefeated. American Records of 12.90 and 12.89 (making him #3 all time), only .02 off the WR, and five meets under 13.00. The degree of \u201cperfection\u201d was high this year performance wise. You couldn\u2019t falter at all and be in the hunt for Athlete of the Year. Following are a handful of athletes that dominated the competition and had only a hiccup or so along the way, yet were left out of the conversation among the top two. So Honorable Mentions to: Tyson Gay 100\/200\/400 Christian Cantwell Shot Put Koji Murofushi Discus Andreas Thorkildsen Javelin Bershawn Jackson 400 Hurdles &nbsp; As all had outstanding seasons. David Rudisha, however, had a magnificent, all conquering, historical kind of season. Making him my Male Athlete of the Year for 2010.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-409","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa3DCY-6B","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":276,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=276","url_meta":{"origin":409,"position":0},"title":"The Stars are Missing","author":"CHill","date":"February 17, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"With US Indoor Nationals looming and World Indoors just a few weeks away, I find myself once again asking if the indoor season is worth the time and money that is put into it?Not that I haven't enjoyed watching the couple of meets that have been televised - because I\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 1 comment","block_context":{"text":"With 1 comment","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=276#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"12th IAAF World Athletics Championships - Day Nine","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cdn.picapp.com\/ftp\/Images\/d\/2\/6\/1\/12th_IAAF_World_2521.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2022,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=2022","url_meta":{"origin":409,"position":1},"title":"Young Sprinters Starting to Step Up","author":"CHill","date":"March 30, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"The indoor season got started with records falling week after week. As hot a start to a new year as I can remember. Then like a snowstorm it got very quiet. The World Indoor Championships were missing the electric performers and performances of the early season. And while the team\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Batson\"","block_context":{"text":"Batson","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?tag=batson"},"img":{"alt_text":"Sprinter Shadow","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/trackchill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Sprinter-Shadow_thumb.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1720,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=1720","url_meta":{"origin":409,"position":2},"title":"How Do We Rank Track &#038; Field&#8217;s Athletes?","author":"CHill","date":"December 1, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"As I said previously it's that time of year - awards \/ ranking season. And as tends to happen, the first set of awards on the table have already stoked the fires of debate - and that's a good thing. Can never have enough conversation about track and field! So\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 8 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 8 comments","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=1720#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"Me for Blog pic","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/trackchill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/Me-for-Blog-pic_thumb.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1575,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=1575","url_meta":{"origin":409,"position":3},"title":"Aries Merritt Best in Berlin","author":"CHill","date":"September 2, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"He doesn't get the biggest headlines - those seem to be reserved for Jamaican sprinters Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake. He hasn't had the greatest individual performance this season - that was easily David Rudisha's barrier breaking 1:40.91 800 in London. And he didn't have the greatest performance we've seen\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Berlin\"","block_context":{"text":"Berlin","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?tag=berlin"},"img":{"alt_text":"Aries Merritt","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/trackchill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Aries-Merritt_thumb.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":380,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=380","url_meta":{"origin":409,"position":4},"title":"Bolt Cuts Season Short \u2013 Still Plenty to Watch","author":"CHill","date":"August 12, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"The word this week on just about every media outlet available \u2013 track and field web sites, major newspapers, even USA Today and ESPN \u2013 is that Usain Bolt is calling it a season. Within days of his loss to Tyson Gay in Stockholm, Bolt announced that due to lower\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"July 17, 2010 - 06183190 date 16 07 2010 Copyright imago Panoramic Athle Meeting Areva Stade de France David Oliver 110m Haies  PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxFRAxITAxBEL Athletics Meeting Areva IAAF Diamond League Paris men Action shot Vdig 2010 horizontal premiumd.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/view1.picapp.com\/pictures.photo\/image\/9367747\/sports-news-july-2010\/sports-news-july-2010.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":107,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=107","url_meta":{"origin":409,"position":5},"title":"A nice start to the season.","author":"CHill","date":"February 2, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"The 2009 Indoor season has started off in fine fashion. The highlight of this past weekend being the 19'8.5\" pole vault of Aussie Steven Hooker at the Millrose Games. Hooker's metric 6.01 vault made him the #4 all time performer indoors and left him only .01cm from #2's Jeff Hartwig\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/409","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=409"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/409\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=409"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=409"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=409"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}