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Emmanuel Wanyonyi (born 1 August 2004)[2] is a Kenyan middle-distance runner specializing in the 800 metres, who won the gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics in this event. With his personal best of 1:41.19 set in the 2024 Olympic 800m final, Wanyonyi is currently the third fastest man in history at the distance, behind Wilson Kipketer and compatriot David Rudisha, who holds the world record.[3] Wanyonyi also holds the current world record in the road mile, with his time of 3:54.56.[4]

Career

At the age of 18, he placed fourth at the 2022 World Athletics Championships.[5] Wanyonyi won the gold medal at the 2021 World Under-20 Championships, setting a championship record in the process.[6][7]

At the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Wanyonyi finished 2nd to Marco Arop in the 800m, with a time of 1:44.53 while Arop ran 1:44.24.[8]

Wanyonyi broke the world road mile record with a time of 3:54.56 at the adizero Road to Records event in Herzogenaurach, Germany, on April 27, 2024.[9]

In June 2024, Wanyonyi ran 1:41.70 to win the 800 m at the 2024 Athletics Kenya Olympic Trials, making him then the 3rd-fastest performer ever over 800 metres, behind Wilson Kipketer's 1:41.11 and David Rudisha's world record of 1:40.91.[10][11]

On 7 July 2024, at the Meeting de Paris, Wanyonyi came in second place to Djamel Sedjati in the 800 meters, running a personal best of 1:41.58 while Sedjati ran 1:41.56. At the time, this made Wanyonyi and Sedjati the fourth and third fastest 800 meter runners in history, respectively.[12]

At the 2024 Olympic Games, Wanyonyi made it through the heats and semifinals of the 800m. In the final, he won the gold medal in a time of 1:41.19, surpassing Djamel Sedjati to become the third fastest man in history at the distance. Only one hundredth of a second behind Wanyonyi was the 2023 800m World Champion Marco Arop, who set a new North, Central American, and Caribbean area record.[13]

Achievements

Circuit wins

References

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