Kenya's David Rudisha undergoes ankle surgery

Two-time Olympic 800-meter champion David Rudisha underwent surgery on his left ankle on Thursday after fracturing it while walking on uneven ground at his home in Kilgoris in rural Narok County, Kenya, last week.

“The surgery was carried out by Kenyan team doctor and orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Victor Bargoria,” reported Rudisha’s manager, Michel Boeting of one4one Sports in the Netherlands.

He continued: “During a walk on the compound the 31-year-old stepped on uneven ground, and initially believed it was not a serious injury. 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.”

Boeting says that Rudisha will be out of training for 12 to 16 weeks.

Rudisha won his first Olympic title in London in 2012 in what many consider to be the greatest 800-meter race ever held. Running from the front, he set a new world record of 1:40.91, a mark which still stands nearly eight years later.

Rudisha was able to defend his title in Rio in 2016, running his fastest time of the year of 1:42.15, beating Algeria’s Taoufik Makhloufi by nearly half a second.

Since 2016, Rudisha has competed sporadically. He only raced four times in 2017, and did not compete in 2018, 2019 or 2020. He hopes to compete at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

Agencies