SOFTLY spoken with a beguiling, gentle manner, David Rudisha is the antithesis of the brash showmanship that is a staple trademark of many of his fellow world-class athletes.

It was Rudisha who set the Olympic Stadium alight with what was arguably the standout performance of London 2012. The Kenyan middle-distance runner captured the 800 metres title with an effortless grace, setting a new world and Olympic record of 1min 40.91sec - the first man to run inside 1:41.

The hope would be for more of the same at the Commonwealth Games in little more than a fortnight from now, but before then Rudisha will be in action at the Sainsbury's Glasgow Grand Prix at Hampden Park, part of the IAAF Diamond League, tomorrow afternoon.

It marks the first time the 25-year-old will have competed in the UK since the Olympics. Having missed the 2013 World Championships due to a knee injury, Rudisha has been flying largely under the radar. He finished seventh in his Diamond League opener in Eugene, Oregon in May before going on to win in New York a fortnight later. His season's best over 800m stands at 1:44.63.

"It's been a tough year coming back from injury and we are trying to do our best to see that I come back to my top form," he says. "I think I'm improving."

Asked whether it was more important to win in Glasgow or run a good time this week, Rudisha is resolute. "Both would be good," he says. "I don't think 1:44 is the sort of time I'll be happy to be running. I want to see that closing down to around 1:42. I'm looking for a good improvement."

Whether or not that will be achieved this weekend remains to be seen but Rudisha said that topping the Diamond League standings is not his key priority. "Our main focus for this year is the Commonwealth Games," he says. "I'm not really pushing the Diamond League, because it's always tough coming back from injury. We don't want to be pushing things. We want to be specific and to make this year a comeback for me."

His face lights up when he talks about making his Commonwealth Games debut in Glasgow. "The Commonwealth Games is a big thing in Kenya," he says. "I have never been to one before. I want to compete and add that medal to my table."

It is clear that Rudisha, who comes from a rich pedigree of world-class athletes - his father, Daniel, won a silver medal at the 1968 Olympics as part of the Kenyan 4x400m relay team, while his mother, Naomi, is a former 400m hurdler - found being sidelined from the sport he loves through injury incredibly difficult.

"I'm dedicated to running and that has been my main job for many years now," he says. "When I was out it was something I wasn't prepared for. I felt like I was somewhere I didn't belong. I was waiting every day, hoping that the next day would be better and maybe I would be able to come back to training and start competing again.

"The only thing you can do is stay motivated. I enjoyed being a spectator for a short while. I was in Russia for the World Championships last year and enjoyed watching, although it felt a little bit like I shouldn't be there."

There are many who would love to see Rudisha recreate his spellbinding historic achievement at London 2012 in the coming days and weeks, but he concedes it could be a tall order. "It's almost impossible to repeat that," he says. "They say if you are lucky you might have only one or two great Olympic moments, so I think to repeat something like that you need to have a big stage.

"Not every time you can do that. But I don't want to say I have just stopped there, that I don't want to try the water and go back in. I'm looking forward, with good training and motivation, to see if in the near future I can be in that good shape and even try to do better."

The pride is palpable when Rudisha recalls the events of that magical evening at the Olympic Games. "That year I was in good shape; there was no doubt about it," he says. "I had run 1:41 twice at the beginning of that season. I knew that if pushed, I could do something special.

"It was such an overwhelming experience," he adds. "That 800m was special because there was not only me breaking the world record, but almost every athlete ran a national record. It was as if we had planned together to do something special. At the end of the day everyone was running for something and I think that was what made that competition the best."

There's an endearingly, almost shy smile as he speaks about watching his legend-making moment back on tape. "I've watched it several times," he says. "It's exciting and I like watching it - even though I was the one running."

The lingering question is whether he can go even faster in the future. Rudisha doesn't rule it out.

"In the Olympics I did it by myself, without a pacemaker," he says. "Maybe if we can get the right pacing and the right competition and if I'm in good shape, we might be able to do something better than that. I don't know about going under 1:40, but it might be possible in the future."