Emmanuel Wanyonyi on course to emulate David Rudisha in style
Kenya's Emmanuel Wanyonyi crosses the finish line to win his Men's 800m Round 1 heat ahead of Italy's Francesco Pernici and Ireland's Mark English at Japan National Stadium, Tokyo, on September 16, 2025.
Olympic 800 metres champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi is on course to emulate some of Kenya’s 800m greatest, world record holder David Rudisha and Emmanuel Korir.
Rudisha, the two time Olympic and world champion, and Korir share some rare similarities.
They are the only athletes to have held both the world and Olympic 800m titles at ago.
Rudisha strode to his maiden world title at the 2011 Daegu before winning at 2012 London Olympics in a world record time of 1:40.91.
At the backdrop of Covid-19 pandemic, Korir glided to victory at the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics that were held in 2021 before going for the world title at 2022 Eugene, United States of America.
Emmanuel Wanyonyi of Kenya crosses the line to win gold ahead of Marco Arop of Canada and third place Djamel Sedjati of Algeria at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris on August 10, 2024.
Wanyonyi, who claimed silver at 2023 Budapest world championships after finishing fourth on debut at in 2022 Eugene world event, is well on course to replicate that performance when he eased through to the semi-finals at the ongoing world championships in Tokyo, Japan on Tuesday.
Wanyonyi upheld Kenya’s dominance in the two-lap race at the Olympics at the Paris Simmer Games last year, winning gold in personal best 1:41.19.
Wanyonyi, the second fastest man in history in 800m, clocked 1:45.05 to win the fifth heat and guide fellow counterman Kelvin Kimtai to the semi-finals in Tokyo as Nicholas Kebenei and Alfred Ng’eno fell on the way.
The semis are scheduled for Thursday at 3.45pm Kenyan time.
Kimtai clocked 1:45.35 to finish second in the second heat that was won by Attaoui from Spain in 1:45.23 as the defending world 800m champion Marco Arop of Canada came third 1:45.39 to also qualify for the semis.
The Kenyans who have held the 800m world titles are Billy Konchellah (1987, 1991), Paul Ruto (1993), Alfred Kirwa (2007), David Rudisha (2011, 2015), Emmanuel Korir (2022).
Kenya’s national 400m record holder Mercy Oketch wasn’t as lucky as she failed to make it to the final in women’s 400m.
She finished seventh in 51.36 in the women's 400m semi-final won by 2019 world champion and 2024 Paris Olympics silver medallist, Salwa Eid Naser of Bahrain.
