Four years after claiming gold in the 800 in world-record time, Kenyan David Rudisha pulled away from the crowd halfway through the second lap to win his second consecutive Olympic gold medal in the event.
Rudisha won in a time of 1:42.15, the fastest time in the world since he broke the world record in London. Taking silver was Algeria’s Taoufik Makhloufi, who finished the race in 1:42.61, with American Clayton Murphy taking bronze with a time of 1:42.93. The 21-year old Murphy is the first American to medal in the men’s 800 since 1992, when Johnny Gray took bronze.