Down but not out – King Rudisha has not called time on his retirement just yet

Two time Olympic gold medalist and 800m world record holder David Lekuta Rudisha has refused to back into retirement just yet despite enduring a lost list of challenges and injury setbacks that have kept him off the track since July 2017.

A quad muscle, back problems, a car crash and surgery for a broken ankle have successfully played a part in ensuring that the 2012 and 2016 Olympic champion could not be able to take part in the postponed 2020 Tokyo Olympics where Emmanuel Korir defended the country’s crown in his absence.

In Tokyo, Rudisha did not defend his Olympic 800m title, extending a four year absence from international competition during which he was set back by injuries. At 32 years of age and more than four years out of active competition, uncertainty has been rife as to whether this is the best time to hang his boots and leave with his glittering career intact.

King Rudisha however has other ideas, the two time World Champion insisting that, even though numerous setbacks have plagued his path, he is yet to call it a day and intends to stick around for a little longer.

“I broke my fibula. I had a fracture and it is taking longer than I expected but I hope when that issue is completely addressed then I will see if I can come back of course. This is athletics and we have seen so many athletes who have done their best on track. When it comes to retirement, you retire in your own way because that is the time you get to reflect on what you have achieved. But until that time comes, I have not retired,” he said in an interview on KTN News.

At the 2012 Olympics, the Maasai warrior lowered his world record to 1:40.91, leading from the break and towing six of the seven other finalists to personal bests.

In 2013, Rudisha discovered a right knee injury while running in New York’s Central Park. He went more than one year between competitions, yet returned to win the 2015 World and 2016 Olympic titles, becoming the first repeat Olympic men’s 800m champ since New Zealand’s Peter Snell in 1964.

Will King David Rudisha ever run again? That is the question we will have to wait in order for us find out.

Additional Reporting by NBC Sports