LONDON, Aug 9: Kenyan David Rudisha set a world record on the way to winning the men’s 800m on Thursday hours after Britain’s Nicola Adams entered the history books as the first ever women’s Olympic boxing champion.

The 23-year-old world champion Rudisha dominated from the start and won the race in 1:40.91, to beat the record mark of 1.41.01 he set back in 2010.

“To come here and break the world record is something unbelievable,” said Rudisha.

Nijel Amos of Botswana, who timed 1:41.73, came second while another Kenyan Timothy Kitum took the bronze in 1:42.53 as every athlete in the race ran either a personal best or a season’s best time.

In front of raucous crowds at east London’s ExCeL venue, flyweight Adams upset Chinese world champion Ren Cancan 16-7 to become the first on the podium in the Olympics’ inaugural women’s boxing competition.

“It is a dream come true. I am so happy and overwhelmed with joy right now. I have wanted this all my life and I have done it,” said Adams.

Minutes later Irish lightweight Katie Taylor followed her to gold, and even louder roars, by narrowly beating Russian Sofiya Ochigava.

The Americans captured seven athletics medals on Wednesday and on Thursday teenager Claressa Shields claimed the women’s middleweight boxing title after beating of Russia, lifting their haul of golds to 35.

At the Aquatics centre, Chen Ruolin of China successfully defended her women’s diving 10m platform title. Australia’s Brittany Broben won the silver and Malaysia’s Pandelela Rinong Pamg won the bronze.

Japan’s Saori Yoshida won the women’s freestyle wrestling 55kg gold for the third successive Games after defeating Tonya Verbeek of Canada in the final while Russia’s Natalia Vorobieva of won the title in the 72kg division.

Defending women’s handball champions Norway reached the final after beating South Korea 31-25 while Canada beat France 1-0 for the women’s football bronze in Coventry. Also winning bronze were Australia who recorded a 13-11 win over Hungary in women’s water polo.

The US women’s basketball kept their dreams of winning a fifth consecutive gold medal alive as they defeated Australia 86-73 in the semi-final.

The Latvian duo of Martins Plavins and Janis Smedins beat the Netherlands in the beach volleyball bronze medal match for the first medal of the Games for the tiny Baltic state.

Earlier on Thursday, Oscar “The Blade Runner” Pistorius and the South African relay team had raised the drama stakes at the Olympic Stadium.

Pistorius, a double-amputee who runs with carbon-fibre blades, and his relay team-mates had a scare when Ofentse Mogawane crashed out of the 4x400m relay heats.

But Kenya were disqualified over Mogawane’s fall and South Africa were reinstated to the final on appeal, keeping Pistorius’s campaign alive.

“Emotional roller coaster!” Pistorius said in a Twitter message after the decision. “Really can’t wait!”—Agencies