Rio 2016: David Rudisha wins 800m final to retain Olympic title

The Kenyan has cemented his status as one of the Games' greatest 800m runners after finishing in 1:42.15 minutes

David Rudisha (Getty)

David Lekuta Rudisha claimed gold in the 800m final to retain his 2012 Olympic title.

The Kenyan has cemented his status as one of the Games' greatest 800m runners after finishing in 1:42.15 minutes.

Algeria's Tauofik Makhloufi finished in second with a time of 1:42.61 minutes while America's Clayton Murphy took bronze with 1:42.93 minutes.

After taking his position at the front of the pack in the first 200m, Rudisha's lead was snatched by fellow team-mate Alfred Kipketer who stormed ahead early on in search of gold.

He was soon lapped by Rudisha though who the hit the top gear in the final 300 metres to pull away from the rest of the group.

Kipketer paid for his early misjudgement and eventually finished seventh.

Rudisha, the current world champion and world record holder, becomes the first man since New Zealander Peter Snell in 1964 to successfully defend the Olympic 800m title.