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Nairobi, Nov 11 (IANS)
Kenya's Olympic 800 metre champion David Rudisha is hopeful that he will hit his top form in time for the 2015 World Championships in Beijing from 22nd to 30th August.
Rudisha, 25, returned home Monday from Bangkok, Thailand where he had travelled to attend a special gala at the inaugural Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) awards, reports Xinhua.
Rudisha got the inaugural award from ANOC for being the best male athlete at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
"Reclaiming the 800m title in Beijing will be on my top agenda. It has been a difficult season for me in 2014, but am hopeful it will turn out to the best as we enter 2015," said Rudisha Monday.
He will face a stiff challenge in the two-lap race from younger athletes Mohammed Aman, the World Indoor Champion, Nijel Amos (World Outdoor Champion) and Timothy Kitum, Olympic bronze medallist, but remains buoyant about his chances.
"Last year, it was important to return to competitive running after staying out for a year with injury. But the focus will shift to running fast time again and am already back to training," the 25-year-old said.
He, however, remained non-committal about his pre-season training plans, having trained in Sydney, Australia, for the last two years and confidently claimed he won't deviate from his quest to successfully retain his Olympic gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
"I still have unfinished business with the Olympics. My first target in 2012 was to get even with my father (Legendary Daniel Rudisha, an Olympic medallist from the Munich Games in 1972). That was accomplished, now I have to reaffirm my pedigree among the best 800m runners in Rio," the middle-distance runner said.
"Last season it was important to regain my fitness and get at par with my rivals. The confidence is back now and I want to get to the best form ahead of Beijing World Championships in 2015 and 2016 Rio Olympics after overcoming a knee injury."
Rudisha was forced to skip last year's world championships because of a knee injury he sustained while running in New York's Central Park.
"Many doubted my fighting spirit to regain fitness but I am fit again and focus is always at the biggest stage, the Rio Olympics in 2016. Not to forget the World Championships in Beijing, it will be a perfect stepping stone for me to reclaim the title I lost to Nijel Amos of Botswana," he said.
Rudisha also expressed his gratitude to double Olympic 1,500m champion Sebastian Coe for his inputs but said that his Irish coach, Brother Colm O'Connell, remains his biggest supporter and fan.
"He is my mentor. He ran well in his days in the 800m distance and he is a legend today. It is my prayer to follow his path and whenever I get a chance to speak with him, I treasure it," said Rudisha of Coe.
