Kenyan athlete makes statement at Olympic Trials with third-fastest 800m time ever

Kenya’s Emmanuel Wanyonyi made a statement in the 800m final at the Kenyan Olympic Trials in Nairobi on Saturday. Wanyonyi ran the third-fastest 800m time in history, stopping the clock at 1:41.70, less than a second behind David Rudisha’s world record of 1:40.91.

The 19-year-old almost failed to qualify for the finals after he was clipped and fell in Friday’s 800m semi-finals, where he finished sixth. After Wanyonyi’s protest, officials advanced him to Saturday’s final, keeping his Olympic dreams alive.

Emmanuel WANYONYI didn’t look great yesterday and was probably lucky to be in the final after causing the fall in the semis. But wow, he looked great today 1:41.71 🔥
 pic.twitter.com/pMowN9TXMH

— fast8trackclub (@fast8trackclub) June 15, 2024

Wanyonyi’s 1:41.70 is the fastest 800m time since the 2012 London Olympics and a Kenyan soil record. Only Rudisha and Wilson Kipketer have gone faster. What’s even more impressive is that his new personal best time came at altitude, as Nairobi sits nearly 1,800m above sea level. Kipketer’s and Rudisha’s times were run at sea level.

The young Kenyan star has been Marco Arop’s biggest rival over the last two years, with the Canadian besting him last year in Budapest to win gold. Wanyonyi won silver, but got his revenge against Arop a month later at the 2023 Diamond League Final in Eugene, Ore., where he ran his previous personal best of 1:42.80 (the fastest 800m time in 2023). 

Arop has been undefeated in his five races to begin 2024, but has not yet faced his young Kenyan rival. The first meeting between Arop and Wanyonyi could be at the Monaco Diamond League on July 12. Arop has already been announced for the 800m in Monaco, and Wanyonyi, will likely head to Europe for a few races in preparation for the Paris 2024 Olympics, where the athletics portion begins Aug. 2.