Caster Semenya and men’s 800m champion BOTH out of Tokyo Olympics

Kenya’s David Rudisha, the two-time defending Olympic 800m champion, will not compete at this year’s Tokyo Olympics due to recurring injuries, he told AFP on Saturday.  

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“I have not been able to return to the track for a long time, and as such I will not be ready to defend my title in Tokyo,” Rudisha, the 800m world record holder, said.

“It is life. This is sport, and as a sportsman you have to accept all the obstacles and challenges. Nothing is completely preventable, not even the injuries,” added the Kenyan, who won Olympic golds in 2012 and 2016, and world titles in 2011 and 2015.  

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Rudisha set the world record (1:40.91) in the 2012 London Olympics final.  

Rudisha was involved in a serious car accident in 2019.

In May 2020, while preparing for a comeback, he sprained his left ankle while walking near his home in Kilgoris, western Kenya. 

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Rudisha told AFP he was not thinking of retiring but would take time to decide his future.  

Kenya has not yet held its athletics Olympic trials. They are scheduled to be held from June 17-19 in Nairobi. 

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Rudisha’s absence means both the men’s and women’s 800m defending Olympic champions won’t be participating in the event in Tokyo.

South Africa’s Caster Semenya, who is also a two-time 800m Olympic champion, has been barred from competing in all events between 400m and the mile.

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