David Rudisha out for the season after surgery
The two-time Olympic 800m champion suffers another setback in his hoped return to action ahead of his title defence at Tokyo 2020.
Athletics
Double 800m Olympic champion David Rudisha underwent successful surgery on his left ankle on Thursday [May 28] after sustaining a fracture.
The Kenyan is expected is to be sidelined for at least four months.
The 31-year-old, who has not competed in nearly two years due to knee and back injuries, twisted his ankle last week at his rural home in Kilgoris, Kenya.
“During a walk on the compound the 31-year-old stepped on uneven ground, and initially believed it was not a serious injury,” his manager Michele Boateng said in a press statement.
“He continued with exercises that wouldn’t cause further harm to his ankle but after a lack of improvement over the weekend, he underwent an examination and was diagnosed with an ankle fracture at St. Luke’s hospital in Eldoret.”
Another injury setback
Before the Covid-19 related disruptions, the world record holder had been training as he wants to become the first man to win three consecutive titles at Tokyo 2020.
Rudisha one of the four men to win back-back Olympic titles, had been hopeful that he would be fit to defend his title and live up to his name at the now-postponed Tokyo 2020 Games.
He resumed training in December 2019.
“It's been very tough handling all these pressures. I want to put everything behind me and start from here, now that the injury is gone and all that is in the past, so that I can improve myself on the track,” he told the Olympic Channel while attending the 2019 World Championships in Doha.
But he will have to delay his comeback to track until much later in the year.
“According to his surgeon and Kenyan team doctor, Dr. Victor Bargoria, it was a left ankle fracture (Supination External Rotation) and he fixated it with a third tubular plate and 3.5mm screws," his manager said on social media.
“Rudisha is expected to be out of training for 12 to 16 weeks and hopes to resume rehabilitation after that.”
The double world gold medallist opened up on other struggles that have kept him off the track since May 2017 .
He lost his dad in 2018, survived a serious car crash and the breakdown of his marriage. But after delaying his comeback twice he was now focused on his career.
At London 2012, Rudisha majestically led from gun to the finish line, to set the world record of 1:40.91.
Sebastian Coe, IAAF president and two-time Olympic 1,500 metre champion, described the run as “the most extraordinary piece of running I have probably ever seen”.