Emmanuel Wanyonyi 'not ready' to attack David Rudisha's world record

Emmanuel Wanyonyi 'not ready' to attack David Rudisha's world record

Abigael Wafula 05:58 - 16.05.2024

Emmanuel Wanyonyi has disclosed he is not ready to attack David Rudisha's world record and disclosed his main target in the build-up to the Paris 2024 Olympics.

World 800m silver medallist Emmanuel Wanyonyi has admitted that he is not ready to attack David Rudisha’s world record despite being banked on by dozens of people.

The 800m world record of 1:40.91 was set by now-retired Rudisha at the 2012 London Games on August 9, 2012 and many believe that it is Wanyonyi who will break that record.

The former World Under-20 champion’s personal best time over the distance is 1:42.80, a time he set in Eugene, USA to win the Prefontaine Classic last year. He insisted that his main focus this season will be to improve his Personal Best time.

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“I want to run better to improve my Personal Best time since that’s my target…maybe 1:41. I’m not ready for now, to run a world record but people usually tell me that I can run a world record but I’m only focusing on my personal best time,” Wanyonyi told the Inside Track on World Athletics.

He added that his focus is mostly on winning races and posting better times, without forgetting that he also loves competition since it pushes him to be a better athlete.

The 19-year-old also insisted that the tough competition also pushes him to work hard in training as he seeks to achieve his goals.

“Kenya is very competitive when it comes to the 800m but I like competition and I like to compete. So, I need to maintain my focus in training because to make the cut to the Olympic team in the 800m will be very tough. I also need to improve my Personal Best time,” Wanyonyi added.

The youngster enjoyed an amazing 2023 season, bagging his first individual medal in the seniors at the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, finishing second behind Canada’s Marco Arop.

He then attained his sweet revenge against the Canadian at the Prefontaine Classic, where he won the race in style. He has been off to a good start with a win at the Kip Keino Classic before setting a world record over the road mile at the Adidas Road to Records.

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