Kenya's Emmanuel Wanyonyi celebrates with his national flag after winning gold in the men's 800m at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on September 20, 2025.
In Tokyo
Freshly-minted world 800m champion, Emmanuel Wanyonyi of Kenya, has revealed that a late night pep-talk by his mentor, David Rudisha, who is the world record holder over the distance, and a last-minute decision to employ searing pace in the final worked in his favour at the 2025 World Athletics Championships.
On Saturday, Wanyonyi, who went to the men’s 800m final contest in Tokyo as the Olympics champion, outsprinted 2022 world champion Marco Arop of Canada to win the two-lap race in a championship record time of 1 minute and 41.86 seconds ahead of 2024 Olympics bronze medalist Djamel Sedjati (1:41.90), and 2003 world champion Arop (1:41.95).
Kenya's Emmanuel Wanyonyi celebrates after winning gold in the men's 800m at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on September 20, 2025.
The results of Saturday’s race were a replica of those from the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, where Wanyonyi triumphed, followed by Arop and Djamel.
Afterwards, Wanyonyi disclosed that a pep talk by his mentor Rudisha on the eve of the race put him on the right frame of mind to win.
“David Rudisha motivates me in my career. Last night we sat and talked for long. He told me to believe in myself and to go out there and win. He told me ‘if you run fast, you can win this race but if you are slow, you might lose the race. Continue believing in yourself. I want you to win this medal tomorrow.’ So I decided to run a fast race,” the 21-year-old, who is the second fastest man over the distance after Rudisha, said.
Rudisha, who is in Tokyo as a guest of World Athletics, was treated to anxious moments when Wanyonyi stepped out of the call room onto the red running track inside Tokyo National Stadium.
Kenya's Emmanuel Wanyonyi celebrates after winning gold in the men's 800m at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on September 20, 2025.
Cameras inside the stadium captured Rudisha paying close attention to the race in the VIP area alongside World Athletics President Seb Coe.
“I am so happy Rudisha was in the stadium to watch me run. He is my mentor. I fought hard to bring the medal home,” Wanyonyi said.
“I ran from the front so as to set the pace heading to the finish line. At one point Arop attempted to hijack the lead. I took off well, but Arop challenged me after 100 metres, and I reacted immediately and stayed at the front of the pack,” he said of his strategy.
In the final 100m of the race, Wanyonyi engaged a higher gear to win.
“I normally set a very fast 700 metres, then crank it up a bit in the last 100m. That worked for me today, but each race requires a different strategy depending on the conditions at play, and the nature of the opposition,” he said afterwards.
So intense was the race Wanyonyi doubted whether she had won the race. Soon after finishing the final race, Wanyonyi, Arop and Djamel were treated to anxious moments as they waited for the giant clock inside the stadium to display the results.
“I couldn’t believe my eyes. I couldn’t believe that I had become the new world champion because the race was so competitive,” Wanyonyi said.
Wanyonyi has had a long-running but healthy rivalry with the 28-year-old Arop over the past two years, sharing major championship titles between themselves.
Kenya's Emmanuel Wanyonyi (center) crosses the line to win gold in the final ahead of Algeria's Djamel Sedjati (left) and Canada's Marco Arop at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on September 20, 2025
At the 2022 World Athletics Championships held in Eugene, Oregon, 2020 Olympics champion Emmanuel Korir of Kenya won the title ahead of Sedjati and Arop. Wanyonyi finished fourth on that occasion.
Arop beat Wanyonyi in the final of men’s 800m race at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, but Wanyonyi returned favour, beating the Canadian in the final of the two-lap race at the 2024 Olympic Games held in Paris to take the gold medal.
In Budapest, Arop clocked 1 minute and 44.24 seconds to win gold ahead of Wanyonyi (1:44.53) and Great Britain’s Ben Pattison (1:44.83). At the 2024 Olympic Games, Wanyonyi turned tables on Arop, winning gold medal in final of the two-lap race.
In Paris, Wanyonyi clocked 1:41:19 to win the men’s 800m final by the thinnest of margins ahead of Arop, who clocked 1:41:20. Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati ran 1:41:50 to take bronze.
World Athletics Championships Tokyo 2025 - Men's 800m Medal Ceremony - Japan National Stadium, Tokyo, Japan - September 21, 2025 Gold medallist Kenya's Emmanuel Wanyonyi celebrates with his medal on the podium REUTERS/Issei Kato
Wanyonyi attributes his resurgence to “increased experience” which he did not have back then.
“In Budapest, I had everything going for me – age, form and strength – but he (Arop) still beat me with experience,” Wanyonyi said.
“He is a disciplined athlete, blessed with longevity.”
“After Budapest, I said I would need experience to win. Then I went to a race in China (Xianmen Diamond League held on September 2, 2023) and I started winning,” Wanyonyi recalls.
It is at Xiamen Diamond League held on September 2, 2023 that Wanyonyi turned tables on Arop, winning in 1:43.20 which was a world-leading time then.
