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Olympic champion David Rudisha miraculously escapes unharmed after surviving plane crash

Olympic champion David Rudisha miraculously escapes unharmed after surviving plane crash

He described the scenes as a ‘scary episode’ and was pictured with the aircraft upside down in a field.

Two-time Olympic champion David Rudisha has miraculously survived a plane crash in south-east Kenya.

Rudisha, who won 800m gold at London 2012 and Rio 2016, was one of six people involved in the crash.

According to Twitter account ItheWaWambui, he was flying from Oloitoktok in Kajiado after attending a community race.

He described the scenes as a ‘scary episode’ and was pictured with the aircraft upside down in a field.

Absolutely wild scenes. Takes some person to survive a crash and then take an image with the wreckage.

He told the Daily Nation: “All was well close to seven or eight minutes into the flight when the engine of the plane suddenly went quiet.

“[The pilot] saw some clear space where he tried to land the plane but one of its wings hit a tree as the plane started to spin before landing on the rocky field.”

Five other people were in the crash and all escaped with minor injuries when it came down over the weekend.

Rudisha praised the pilot, saying: “The pilot did an incredible job to keep the plane afloat and stable for long.”

The 33-year-old set the world record for 800 metres at the 2012 London Games with a time of 1:40.91.

MI News / Alamy

He is the first and only person to ever run 800 metres in under a minute and 41 seconds.

This isn't the first time Rudisha has somehow survived a near-fatal accident either.

Not only did he find himself in the plane crash over the weekend, but it comes just over three years since he survived a head-on collision in 2019.

In August 2019, Rudisha was unharmed when his SUV collided with a bus on a highway near Keroka in Kenya.

Don’t know whether to call him lucky or unlucky.

At the time, he tweeted: “Thanking the Almighty God for the gift of life. Saturday night around 1030Hrs I survived a tragic road accident at Keroka on my way home to Kilgoris after a head-on collision with a bus plying Kisii Nairobi Route. I am fine with no injuries! Thank you for your prayers.”

Former BBC Sport journalist Tom Fordyce once called Rudisha the ‘greatest 800m runner of all time and he may also be the nicest man in his sport’.

Featured Image Credit: @ItheWaWambui/Twitter. Aflo Co. Ltd. / Alamy.

Topics: Athletics, Olympics