Bloudek breaks 51-year-old 800 meters national record

Croatian middle-distance runner Marino Bloudek has returned home after setting a national record in the 800 meters - a record that had stood for 51-years. 

On Tuesday, Bloudek clocked a blistering time of 1 minute, 44.02 seconds at the Ostrava Golden Spike meet in the Czech Republic, beating the old record set by Lucijano Sušanj in Rome in 1974 by 5 one-hundredths of a second.

 He's been on fire lately and sensed something big was coming.

"I knew I was ready from the start. We've had a fantastic season so far and it was just a matter of time when we'd break the national record and get the Olympic qualifying standard for the Tokyo Olympics,” Bloudek told HRT.

Bloudek and his coach Mladen Kršek said they key component of the rising star’s training in this latest cycle was going to Kenya in December and January to train at altitude. Bloudek is now focusing on the World Championships in Tokyo in September.

“We progress every year, every year we push boundaries, every year we find new ways to improve even more,” said Kršek.