The Stade de France will have to wait to be the theatre for a world record in athletics (seniors).

Kenyan David Rudisha gave his absolute all to pull it out of the bag in the 800m, but he was 53 hundredths of a second off the pace. His compatriot Sammy Tangui played the role of pacesetter during the first lap, so as to get the world record man into orbit, but it wasn’t enough. In a time of 1'41''54, Rudisha nevertheless beat the Meeting Areva record (held by André Bucher since 2001) and his own personal best this year. Spaniard Antonio Reina (1'45''62) and Kenyan Alfred Yego (1'45''58) complete the podium. French runners Paul Renaudie (fifth in 1'46''16, season’s best), Hamid Oualich (seventh in 1'46''26) and Pierre-Ambroise Bosse (ninth in 1'47''85) did what they could...