Gold: David Rudisha (Kenya)
Silver: Taoufik Makhloufi (Algeria)
Bronze: Clayton Murphy (United States)
David Rudisha won his second consecutive Olympic 800m gold medal Monday night. The runner nicknamed “King David” became the first person to successfully defend an Olympic 800m gold medal since 1964.
Kenya’s Alfred Kipketer led after the first lap, but Rudisha blew past his countryman on the second lap to finish in 1 minute 42.15 seconds. Rudisha is the world record holder in the event with a time of 1:40.91, which he clocked at the 2012 Olympics.
Taoufik Makhloufi, 2012 Olympic 1500m champion for Algeria, earned the silver medal.
American Clayton Murphy was the bronze medalist. The 21-year-old claimed the first medal for a U.S. man in the event since 1992. Fellow American Boris Berian finished last out of eight runners.
The women’s 800m will begin Wednesday at 9:55 a.m. ET. South Africa’s Caster Semenya has the top time in the world this year.