Since emerging as one of the finest 800m runners in the world nearly a decade ago, major titles eluded Wilfred Bungei. But tonight, propelled by the vast experience he’s compiled, the Kenyan flag-bearer captured the Olympic 800m title.

He did it without any second guessing, without panicking. Finding himself in the lead at the break, he simply went with what the race handed him. With his sterling determined run, he was never headed as he crossed the line in 1:44.65.

“That is why I broke down a little when I crossed the line,” said Bungei, who became the third Kenyan to win the Olympic title after Paul Ereng (1988) and William Tanui (1992). “I came here not knowing exactly what I was going to do. It’s been so elusive for me to get a medal. In spite of the fact that I’ve been one of the best for a long time, especially when you compare 2001 until now. It’s been tough. And to at the end of the day, to win, was just amazing.”

Indeed, Bungei has been among the event’s elite since taking World championships silver in 2001, and was the fastest in the world in 2003, 2004 and 2005. The Olympic title eluded him in 2004 in Athens where he finished fifth, and again at the 2005 and 2007 World championships where he finished fourth and fifth respectively.

Bungei said he had no pre-race plan to follow. Making plans that don’t pan out, he said, leads to panic, and ultimately defeat. “I found myself in front, and I said, ‘Ok, lets go.’ ”

At the break, he and teammate Alfred Kirwa Yego, the World champion, ran virtually stride-for-stride, with Yego on the outside. Behind them, Algerians Nabil Madi and Nadjim Manseur followed. When Bungei reached the bell in 53.35, Sudan’s Ismail Ahmed Ismail and Cuban Yeimer Lopez joined the front of the pack; the Sudanese moved into second with 200m to go, seemingly poised to attack for the lead down the homestretch.

But the assault never came. Bungei fiercely held his ground to hold off Ismail, who managed to narrow the gap slightly over final few strides to stop the clock in 1:44.70. Yego produced a solid closing effort of his own, moving from fifth the third over the final 50 metres to take the bronze in 1:44.82.

Canadian Gary Reed, who barely qualified from each of the first two rounds, looked strongest of all during the homestretch dash, but left himself too much ground to cover, and finished fifth in 1:44.94.

Bob Ramsak for the IAAF

The merciless 800m semisthe toptwo from each of the three heats moved on automatically to Saturday (23) evening’s final - claimed two pre-Olympic medal favourites, one with perhaps the most international racing experience, and the other with the least.

The first race pitted reigning Olympic champion Yuriy Borakovskiy against perennial speedster Wifred Bungei, the Kenyan team captain, and this year’s Cuban breakout talent, Yeimar Lopez. The Kenyan and Cuban ran at the front over the first lap, with Borzakovskiy joining at the bell, which sounded as Bungei crossed in a dangerously slow 54.32.

American champion Nick Symmonds joined the leaders midway through the backstretch, with the Cuban fading back a step. The pace quickened as the pack headed into the final turn, but with Bungei maintaining control and Borzakovskiy on his shoulder.

Bungei held on to win in 1:46.23 with Borzakovskiy poised to follow his Kenyan colleague and friend across the line. But Lopez took the opportunity to put his closing strength on display to the world. The tall 26-year-old moved smoothly and powerfully from fifth off the final bend, passing the Russian to finish second in 1:46.40, with the defending champion another 0.13 seconds behind.

After seeing the Cuban cross before him, the Russian closed his eyes, covered them with hands clasped in prayer, and waited.

But he didn’t have to wait too long.

In a much faster (51.02 at 400m) second heat, World champion Alfred Kirwa Yego moved to the front just before entering the final turn, running much more relaxed than in yesterday’s opening round. Reigning silver medallist Mbulaeni Mulaudzi was just behind on the outside, with Yusuf Saad Kamel on the inside.

The first casualty of the race was Mulaudzi, who lost contact with about 250 to go, while Yego went on to win in 1:44.73, the fastest time of the evening. Sudan’s Ismail Ahmed Ismail accelerated through the bend to finish second in 1:44.91, just ahead of Kamel (1:44.95), who also advanced. Further back in fourth, Nadjem Manseur clocked 1:45.54 to definitively knock Borzakovskiy out of the final.

Heat three featured World indoor champion and world leader Abubaker Kaki, and from the outset it was clear that the teenager was in trouble. Never finding his rhythm over the first lap and simply running of steam over the second, his first Olympics ended on a sour note as he eventually faded to last.

In the interim, Algerian Nabil Madi controlled the tempo, bringing the field through 400 in 52.24 and 600 in just under 1:20. Behind him, with the exception of Kaki, the pack was still tight. Madi held on to win in 1:46.63, with Osaka silver medallist Gary Reed, better positioned than he was in the first round from which he barely qualified, taking second in 1:45.85. He barely edged Kenyan Boaz Lalang, whose 1:45.87 fell about two-tenths of a second shy of moving him on to the final.

Bob Ramsak for the IAAF

With just the first two in each heat automatically moving on to tomorrow’s semi-finals, the first round of the men’s 800m featured eight scrappy contests. And looking the best, for the moment, was defending champion Yuriy Borzakovskiy.

The first heat, featuring Borzakovskiy and Kenyan team captain Wilfred Bungei, was also the fastest – by far. Iranian national record holder Ehsan Hohajershojaei brought the field through the first lap in 50.89, with the Russian and Kenyan following closely, side-by-side in positions three and four. Bungei went to the front with 200m to go, with Borzakovskiy on his shoulder. The order remained as they crossed the line, Bungei in 1:44.90 and Borza in 1:45.15.

“It was faster than I thought it would be, but that’s ok,” said Bungei, the 2006 World indoor champion.

While the first heat set the tone time-wise for the rest, few chose to follow suit, leading to a slew of physical homestretch clashes.

Heat two went to world leader Abubaker Kaki. The Sudanese teenager who has electrified the event this season since his gun-to-tape victory at the World indoor championships, predictably ran in a similar fashion. He fended off all would-be challengers en route to his 1:46.98 win, including Saudi Mohammed Al-Salhi’s (1:47.02) late race challenge. Borzakovskiy’s training partner Dmitriy Bogdanov, who threatened early on, lost ground on the leaders and finished third in 1:47.49, and didn’t advance.

“It’s nice to race again,” said Kaki, whose 1:42.69 World junior record in Oslo was the world’s fastest performance in five years. “There were no problems. I have confidence,” he said. “Sure.”

The fourth heat, featuring Alfred Kirwa Yego of Kenya proved to be a solid first round test for the World champion. Eduard Villanueva of Venezuela brought the field through a modest 53.08, with U.S. champion Nick Symmonds and Yego behind him in second and third. Antonio Manuel Reina of Spain worked his way into the leading group as they headed into the final bend, pushing Kirwa back into third. Symmonds held on for the 1:446.01 victory while Yego, forced to run very wide off the final curve, managed to work his way out of the group to take second in 1:46.04. Reina (1:46.30) also moved on based on time.

“This is exactly what I wanted,” said Symmonds. “I haven’t raced in seven weeks. I had to re-accelerate and it was nice to know that I had that kick. I’ll need it tomorrow.”

Said Yego, “It was very tough, but I think tomorrow will be toughest. It’s going to be very competitive. I struggled a little bit and had to work harder than I thought.”

Cuban Yeimar Lopez, another of this season’s breakouts, won a hotly contested Heat 8 after a strong homestretch battle with Kenyan Boaz Lalang, 1:45.66 to 1:45.72. The next four, including 1500m finalist Belal Mansoor Ali of Bahrain.

Heat five went to Spaniard Manuel Olmedo who took a solid victory in 1:45.78 with Sudanese Ismail Ahmed Ismail (1:45.87) next. Canadian Gary Reed, who was disappointed with his performance, will have a chance to redeem himself in the semi after moving on based on time (1:46.02).

The slow pace made heat seven the most dramatic, with a careful photo reading needed to sort out the first three. In the closest of finishes,  Mohammad Al-Azemi of Kuwait, Bahraini Yusuf Saad Kamel and Dutchman Robert Lathouwers crossed the line in 1:46.94. After what must have been the longest 70 seconds of their lives, it was determined that the Dutchman would be left out of the final. Relieved but quiet, Kamel, a sub-1:43 man this year, refused to speak after the race.

Advancing from Heat 3, the second slowest of the night, were Briton Michael Rimmer (1:47.61) and defending silver medallist Mbulaeni Mulaudzi of South Africa (1:47.66), both of whom overtook Pole Pawel Czapiewski, who led for much of the race only to finish third just 0.02 second behind and failing to advance.

The slowest heat of the night was the sixth, won by Amine Laalou of Morocco in 1:47.86, ahead of Ugandan record holder Abraham Chepkirwok (1:47.93).

As Yego and Symmonds pointed out, Thursday’s (21) semis will be fierce. Only the first two from each of the three heats qualify, plus the next two fastest.

Bob Ramsak for the IAAF