Yesterday Hubby and I flew to Oklahoma City (house hunting weekend) via United Airlines. All I had with me was my Kindle so while all electronics had to be stored away, I started reading through their magazine, Hemisphere. It had a nice spread about the olympics and highlighted several Americans to watch. Reading about the athletes of my own country, it made me realize that I am completely uneducated about the Olympians from anywhere else. So I started researching other Olympians to watch and plan to highlight a new one every Friday from now until the end of the Olympics.

This week’s Olympian to watch is David Rudisha

Olympic Sport: 800 Meter

Hometown: Kilgoris, Kenya

Birthdate: December 17, 1988 (age 23)

Height: 6’3″ (that is 14 inches taller than me)

Weight: 157 lbs.

His story: In the past three years, Rudisha has only lost 1 race.  Yep, just 1.  Pretty incredible, right?  He grew up as a member of the Maasai tribe in the Trans Mara region, a tribe known for a tradition of fearsome warriors and cattle-herders.  In fact, when David went home in 2010 to celebrate setting the world record, there were 5,000 people and 1.000 cattle in attendance. The Olympics are in Rudisha’s blood – his father won a silver medal at the 1968 games and David states that his dad’s achievements have encouraged his own success. Overall, David is loved by his country. Known by the nickname of King David, he makes his people proud and is definitely one to watch during the London Games.

Want to read more? Check out these articles about David.

• Vanity Fair
• Runner’s Digest
• About.com
• Wikipedia