By Elshadai Negash 

Their rivalry drew track enthusiasts to the men’s 800m like never before.

The established favorite, Kenya's David Rudisha, stands out in any field with his tall frame and fluid running. The son of former world champion Daniel Rudisha, David crushed out in the semifinals at the 2008 Games in Beijing before running the race of his life at the 2012 London Olympics to win gold and break his world 800m record.

His rival, Abubaker Kaki Khamis, hailed from the Sudan—a nation with track and field traditions that pale in comparison to Kenya’s. Kaki thought his sporting future laid in soccer before he accidentally took part in a race. Despite finishing 24th out of 25 starters in a 3000m race, it got his coach contemplating the impossible.

His triumph on the track was so new to his nation that Sudanese hoisted him up on their shoulders while songs written about him played through blaring speakers. But that was just the beginning.

In 2008, Kaki won Sudan’s first-ever World Indoor gold and defended his 800m title two years later in Doha. When he won big races and returned to his country, he was greeted by motorcades, crowds lining the streets, burka-clad women ululating their lungs out, and teenagers giggling in front of their athletic heartthrob.

Rudisha vs. Kaki pitted a family legacy against someone eager to write a new chapter; the cool and calculated versus the run-now-and-die later mentality. Their rivalry extended beyond just the two of them. Rudisha's legendary old Irish Catholic missionary coach, Brother Colm O’Connell, starkly contrasts Kaki's Somali mid-distance-running mastermind, Jama Aden. 

From 2009 to 2012, the two headlined the world’s major track events and traded off taking top honors. Their last episode ended with Rudisha bagging Olympic gold in 2012 while Kaki crossed the line for a seventh-place disappointment. 

Both have struggled since then. Rudisha missed the 2013 World Championships and much of 2014 with multiple injuries and ill-timed comeback attempts, but snapped out of the funk last year with gold in the Beijing World Championships.

Kaki’s setbacks have proved more stubborn. Before this last week of March, he competed just once in two years at the Arab Championships in Bahrain where he ran 3:53 for 12th. He finished closer to the back of the field than the front. 

“I am restarting my season and my career here,” he says as he settled down for an interview in Djibouti where he would open his outdoor season having scrapped yet another indoor campaign. “It has not been easy for me the last three years. I have had a number of injuries and tried to come back. I would feel pain in training and would just go on training. When I tried to compete, the injuries would return. I would run badly and it would really hurt my confidence.” 

With his declining form, songs and public adoration have also waned for Kaki, but he claims some interest in him still remains. “These days, it's on Facebook and Snapchat,” he said. “People from all over the world write to me asking when they expect me back in a race. There isn’t a lot of physical pressure like before where people would stop to greet me and take photos daily. I still do feel pressure when I read the messages and I don’t answer as much as I should because I want to focus on getting back.” 

Part of the challenge in getting back to his winning ways was the declining support he's received from his federation to pay for training camps and equipment. “In 2010, we had a major change in the federation, and the support was really bad,” he said. “But since last year, things are getting better and we are starting with a new generation. We also get better support from the state, which is a good thing.” 

Like other flatlands and countries with arid or semiarid conditions, Sudan sends its athletes to training camps as near as neighboring Ethiopia from November to April and then to far-flung places like northern Europe (Sweden) or the far East (Japan) from May to September. It means that many of the athletes who come from deprived backgrounds cannot afford these expenses unless they are supported by the state or already earn a decent amount from racing. Although Kaki earned enough to pay for the expenses himself, he believes his head was not in the game following recent disappointing comeback attempts. 

“Last year, I wanted to retire from the sport,” he said. “I doubted myself and ask questions like, ‘Why can’t I run the way I used to?' It made me lose my mind. But these are situations where you realize who truly cares about you. My coach [Aden] came through for me and lifted me up. My family also pushed me so that I can get back to training.” 

Kaki's most recent racing effort in Djibouti's 1500m was another disappointment. Kaki’s chances looked promising in the early stages of the race as he took the pack through the first two laps before he waned in the last lap. He clocked 3:39.76 to finish third behind A.W Mouhyadien of Djibouti, who won the race in 3:36.67. 

“This is good. You will get into the habit of racing and fighting,” Coach Aden said after the race with Kaki nodding in agreement. 

“I have been here before and it is not easy,” the 27-year-old said. “But I know there is hope and I want to fight. This year, I want to try the 1500m which is more tactical and needs speed in the last 300m. I will be ready for the fight.” 

But as he hits the gym, roads, and track to pave his path to a successful return, does he think of the glory rivalry days with Rudisha? 

“Sometimes,” he says. “This year, though, I want to run in the 1500m, where the 'Rudishas' will be Asbel [Kiprop], Toufik [Makhloufi], [Souleiman] Ayanleh and a few others.”