Perhaps it was the rounds, perhaps it was the heat and humidity, but the field literally gave the race to Mr. Bungei, who took command early on, hitting the 400 meters in 53.55..
with Ismail Ahmed Ismail of Sudan, Yusuf Saad Kamel of Bahrain, and revelation Yeimir Lopez of Cuba following very close.
But that was as close as they got! Wilfred Bungei of Kenya took the crowd through the 600 meter sin 1:19.17 and ran the last 200 meters in 25.5!. His negative splits, with a first lap in 53.55 and his last lap of 50.95 took the sting out of all of the kickers!
Bungei came home with the gold in 1:44.65, his seasonal best. Ismail Ahmed Ismail of Sudan ran 1:44.70 for the silver and Alfred Kirwa Yego of Kenya took the bronze in 1;44.82. Gary Reed of Canada had a mind freeze about 700 meters into the race and did not remember he was in an Olympic final until about fifty meters from the finish, where he kicked like a madman and missed the bronze by .12, running 1:44.94.
Yusuf Saad Kamal of Bahrain was not a factor as he finished fifth in 1:44.95 and Yeimer Lopez of Cuba was sixth in 1:45.88.
( I will finish my updates later this evening, but the last session in the Olympic stadium is over and I want to wish you all good night. More updates after dinner!)
