David Rudisha says no letup in fight to regain 800m world title

Nairobi: Olympic 800 metres champion David Rudisha says he will leave no stone unturned as the Kenyan tries to regain the world title at the Athletics Championships to be held in Beijing between August 22 to 30.

However, lately, the tide has been against the double lap specialist. His latest loss to Ferguson Rotich at the Kenyan trials for the Beijing World Athletics Championships invited worldwide reaction of how low he can sink, or if at all, he will redeem his career in the Chinese capital, Xinhua reported on Monday.

"I have to admit that in the final 50 metres, I need to improve. I control the race well and lack that killer sprint to pull away in the final straight," Rudisha said.

"I hope to work on it and improve ahead of the World Championships. Don't rule me out yet, I believe it is still in my reach and we have a strong team as Kenya," Rudisha added.

Ever since the emergence of Rudisha back in 2006 at the Beijing World Junior Championships, there have been several pretenders to his throne.

The first was the flowering of Nijel Amos (Botswana), the second saw the blossoming of Ayanleh Souleiman (Djibouti) and the late blooming of Ethiopia's world champion Mohammed Aman.

But Rudisha, 26, has refused to let go his title without a fight in Beijing. Throw in Rotich of Kenya and Bahamas' Amel Tuka, and several others, and there could be an explosion of colour in the 800 metres at the World Championships.

Rudisha conceded he has a bigger problem rectifying his running tactics in order to have a strong finishing kick at the championships.

However, with only two weeks of training left, time is ticking away for the world record holder (1:40.91 minute) as he puts the final touches to his preparations.

"We can see a smile even after tough track session. I have to work seriously on my final 50 metres because it is where I lose out. But I'm happy with my progression since returning from injury," said Rudisha.

Kenyan team head coach Julius Kirwa said: "Rudisha is coming on very well and you might be seeing a different athlete in Beijing. It was hard for him but he has accepted he may not be as fast as two seasons ago. He has moved on already and is focusing on Beijing."