800m record holder Rudisha falls in Lausanne

Olympics and 800m record holder David Rudisha failed to leave up to expectations, falling to rival Botswana's Nigel Amos in the Diamond League meeting in Lausanne on Thursday night.

For the better part of the race, it looked like Rudisha was going to follow up his victory in New York exactly according to plan.

The tall, powerful Kenyan had taken his familiar place at the front once the pacemaker had dropped away on the second lap and he entered the straight having distanced himself from all his opposition—save for the determined little figure of the man who followed him home to take silver at the London 2012 Olympics, Nijel Amos.

The Botswana athlete, gritting his teeth with the effort, moved up to Rudisha halfway down the straight, and as he did so an anxious glance back from the champion whose past two years have been blighted by a succession of injuries was the giveaway sign that the race would go to Amos.

His winning time was a season’s best of 1:43.27, with Rudisha clocking 1:43.76 and third place going to his fellow Kenyan Ferguson Rotich Cheruiyot, who recorded 1:44.44.

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