During last year’s  Olympic Games in London, David Rudisha’s 800m gold medal performance made him the star of the show.  On a recent flying visit to Ireland the world title-holder showed his 24-carat mettle as a person by becoming a champion of a different kind to thousands of Irish fans.

The jet-heeled world-record breaker thrilled children by visiting no less than 16 schools,  a university, and also competed alongside hundreds of runners in a series of specially arranged events. And after that he still had the energy to share his insights on the world of athletics, at a Q & A evening in Galway city attended by more than 600 people.

The legendary Sebastian Coe summed up Rudisha’s achievements in London best, describing his run as “the performance of the Games, not just of track and field but of the Games”. He continued that ” (Usain) Bolt was good, Rudisha was magnificent”, a statement that truly emphasises both the magnitute of the athlete’s visit to Ireland as well as Self Help Africa’s great pleasure to be associated with such an inspirational character.

The visit by Rudisha and his Irish-born coach, Bro. Colm O’Connell was organised by the Kenya Association in Galway and sponsored by North Pole Marathon. Close to to €20,000 was raised to support Self Help Africa, the Galway Simon Community and Bro. O’Connell’s own Education for Life charity in Kenya.