Rudisha won’t be ready for Olympics – Bro Colm

Brother Colm O’Connell, the man who knows David Rudisha more than anyone else, is certain the two-time Olympic champion will not defend his title at the July 24-August 9 Games in Tokyo, Japan.

Bro Colm, as he is popularly known, says his assessment stems from the fact that the 800m world record holder is not in top shape and with the Olympics trials just under three months away, ‘King David’ will not be ready.

Gone are the days when Rudisha would be considered for a wildcard, meaning his only route to Tokyo is through the trials where he has to finish in the top three which looks unlikely. 

“Rudisha has had his disappointments in life. Last year, he lost his father, suffered injuries, there was a breakdown of his marriage and even surviving a serious car crash.

From a coach’s perspective, he needs more time to get into Rudisha shape,” Colm ‘the godfather of Kenyan running,’ who has trained several world beaters said. 

The 30-year-old master of the two-lap race has not competed since May 2017 because of recurrent back and knee injuries.

He recently told a local online publication that he will make a decision in two months on whether to vie for a place in Kenya’s team for the 2020 Tokyo Games.

“It has not been easy because when I was out, I was advised to stop training completely and I added a lot of weight.

You cannot train well until you get to your normal cruising weight,” Rudisha, who holds the world record of 1:40.91 said last month. 

However, Colm feels there won’t be enough time for Rudisha to convince selectors that he deserves a slot in team Kenya. “This is Rudisha we are talking about. 

He set the bar so high, something even himself is finding hard to keep with. In all honesty, we are in March and there is not much time left before the Kenyan trials. Four, five months is not a long time.

And of course he has to prove himself that he is back to the Rudisha standards,” added Colm, who wants Rudisha to put his house in order first before he can think of competing.

“Once he is focused and has a goal in mind, he is a different person all the same. He was not in shape before the 2016 Rio Olympics, but he covered a lot two weeks after the trials and eventually went on and won his second gold medal. Presently, I don’t see that hunger in him,” assessed Colm. 

While he refutes claims of a split with his famous student, Colm has lately been focusing on upcoming runners such as world 10,000m bronze medallist Rhonex Kipruto and African Games 5,000m champion Robert Kiprop from his Iten base.