Maasai warrior David Rudisha ready to slay another lion

David Rudisha is proud to be a 800 meters world champion, proud to be a world record holder but as much as anything is proud of being a Maasai and desperate to secure a first Olympic gold medal for his tribe later this year.

The 23-year-old Kenyan, whose father Daniel was the first Maasai to compete at the Olympics and won a relay silver in 1968, has ruled the 800 meters for the last three years and will be odds on favorite to win the title in London on Aug. 9.

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Villagers gather as they await for the arrival of world 800m record holder David Rudisha in Kilgoris, Kenya.

"The Olympics is a special event and winning is very important," Rudisha told Reuters in an interview. "For me as a world record holder and world champion, the only thing I am missing is the Olympic gold medal and that is what I want to achieve in my career."

There are some who believe that Rudisha should be as big a star in the firmament of athletics as Jamaican sprint king Usain Bolt after single-handedly rescuing the two lap race from the domination of tactical sprint finishers.