David Rudisha

The action in the Olympic Stadium on Thursday evening was spectacular and memorable, but it also left me feeling slightly aggrieved and puzzled.

We had what was by most definitions and measurements, a quite breathtaking men's 800 metres final, with one of the most majestic performances I can remember in my three decades of watching athletics.  David Rudisha lead almost the whole way, throwing down the gauntlet to his rivals, and breaking his own world record.  His searing pace and front-running towed his rivals round to some remarkable times, with five men breaking the 1 minute 43 seconds barrier.

Yet, by the end of the evening, and then this morning, talk of Rudisha's momentous display had largely faded from the forefront of the media, with the focus firmly on Usain Bolt's 200 metres victory, and more "Team GB" success.  I am not under-estimating the importance of Bolt's achievements, or the GB feats, but it seemed to me that things were a bit out of balance.

Perhaps I should not be surprised by all this, really.  This is where we are inexorably heading.  The cult of celebrity, such a pervasive feature of our world today, no doubt influences things, and those with "Pied-Piper" qualities and that aura about them will receive more attention and adulation those who are just simply brilliant at what they do but undemonstrative..  I doubt that this all bothers David Rudisha much, either.  He knows what he achieved last night, as do genuine track and field and sports fans.

I certainly know which race from Thursday's track and field programme I myself found most "inspirational", to use the current buzz-phrase.  A clue - it was won by a Kenyan....