He could be described as one of the great stoics and a Kenyan legend in his own right, but 800m world record holder David Rudisha is well known for his enthusiasm and humility.

Shortly after arriving in the island yesterday ahead of the second staging of the JN Racers Grand Prix, Rudisha, who is the first Kenyan to retain an Olympic title, was literally ready to hit the ground running.“I just arrived a few minutes ago and so I’m just looking forward to tonight to go to the track and just do some jogging and just relaxing and see how things will go,” he told journalists after docking at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel accompanied by manager James Templeton.The delight about being in Jamaica to celebrate the legendary Usain Bolt was evident in the eyes of the decorated middle-distance athlete, as he expressed his admiration for the multiple World and Olympic champion.“This is my first time here and I am really excited. Jamaica is one of the countries that is very famous in Africa because of its tradition and reggae, and I am happy to come here on this big occasion to celebrate a great hero Usain Bolt.“Usain is a great athlete; he is our role model and ever since when I was getting into track and field as a young athlete, we used to see him and we admire him. He is very friendly and we all love him because of his achievements and what he does out there in track and field,” Rudisha explained.He may be just 28 years old, but already Rudisha has achieved numerous accolades, chief among them being the first and only person to ever run under 1:41 minutes for the 800m, when he clocked a record 1:40.91 at the 2012 London Olympics.Rudisha also holds the three fastest, six of the eight fastest, and half of the 20 fastest times ever run in the event and he will be seeking to set the National Stadium alight with another dazzling display as his salute to the legend come Saturday.If everything goes according to plan, then his season opening fourth-place finish time of 1:45.36 registered at the Shanghai Diamond League Meet will be a thing of the past.“Definitely that is my aim looking forward to improve my time because since 2013, 2014, I have always been starting a little bit around that time 44, 45 and I want to improve on that before the World Championships.“So I am just looking forward to do some improvement from my last competition in Shanghai. That was my first competition this year so this event, if everything goes well, then I am looking forward to improve by about a second or so,” the soft-spoken athlete noted.He continued: “My form is good and I’ve been doing some build-up [and] I have always been improving in my training. So my main aim is World Championships, so every time I compete I always want to better my time because that is what matters at the end of the day.“I know I am going to experience a lot [in Jamaica]; this is a country that we love that have great athletes like Usain and other athletes that I will be meeting out there on the circuit. So I’m looking forward to experience a lot of Jamaica.”Finally, the three-time Track & Field Athlete of the Year and 2010 IAAF World Athlete of the Year’s intention is to win a third consecutive 800m gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.However, he will have to first reproduce his London 2012 effort when he returns there for the IAAF World Championships in August.“London is one of my special cities, that is where I won my first Olympic title and break the 800m world record time which is obviously still standing today and it is somewhere that I love most and I am looking forward to go back there,” Rudisha stated.“It is always a pity and I feel very sorry for those who were killed and their family, but I don’t think this will stop us from going there to compete and showing our support and do our best because this is our career and we love it,” he added in reference to the recent spate of terror attacks in the British capital.