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World 800m silver medallist Emmanuel Wanyonyi has revealed how poverty and naysayers nearly ruined his athletics talent before his resilience and a good Samaritan came to his rescue
World 800m silver medallist Emmanuel Wanyaonyi has revealed how he overcame a difficult childhood and doubters to become a world beating athlete.
Wanyonyi, who has a personal best of 1:43.27, clocked 1:44.53 to finish second behind Canada’s Marco Arop for silver at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, announcing his arrival on the grand stage after winning gold over the distance at the 2021 World U20 Championships.
However, this might not have been the case had he listened to many people in his home county who told him that he was not cut for athletics and a teacher who offered him a scholarship after spotting his immense talent.
“When I told them this, they told me I was wasting my time as no one from my tribe runs,” Wanyonyi told Olympics.com of the jeers he received from people who spotted him jogging in the village in Saboti, Trans Nzoia County.
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Wanyonyi was lucky to get an education having seen his family struggle to educate him and his 10 siblings since poverty was like their second name.
By the age of 10, he was forced to drop out of school and sought work as a herd boy. He looked after cattle as a means of survival for years, and during his free time, he would go running around a track at a local school and that is when a teacher spotted his talent and supported his return to school.
“I knew from way back that the only thing that could save me and my family from this difficult life was running…that’s why I just focussed all my energies on training,” remembers Wanyonyi, who would often make the podium, running in disciplines from 400m to 5,000m at county and national events.
His life changed again in 2018 when his father died. Wanyonyi’s mother left with his younger siblings, while he was sent to live with an aunt who also had very little. He knew he had to step up and support his family in some way.
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“I didn’t come from a family of runners, but I knew that I could make it as a runner if I trained and pushed hard. I had to do it for my family,” he said.
“I am the fifth born of 11 children, and most of them never went to school. As the only one who was in school, and I saw running as an opportunity out of our misery.”
He stayed true to his education and managed to juggle education and athletics in what was a tough period of his life.
“I would go to bed sometimes quite late as I had to finish my assignments, but still wake up at 4 or 5am to train before going to class,” remembers the 19-year-old.
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“I was often caned for reporting to class late because I had to train first. I was worried that if I fell back in training and running, I would lose the opportunity to study and the education scholarship.”
Wanyonyi was a student at Kosirai Secondary School in Nandi County, an athletics-rich region, and that is how he met 2007 world 800m champions Janeth Jepkosgei and his career changed for the better.
“Janeth has done a lot for me. She is the one who encouraged me to keep going forward and continue to put in the work in training. She gave me my first training programme, advised me to focus on running 800m, then linked me up with Claudio [Berardelli], her former coach,” added Wanyonyi.
“There were people who mocked me when I started running, while others would laugh in my face. There were others who called me mad when they saw me running around training. They told me no one from my tribe runs.
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“A lot of people still ask me, 'how come you are a Luhya, and you can run so well?' I keep telling them that anyone can be good at anything they want to be, if you put their mind to it. Nothing is impossible.”
The 2021 World U20 Championships was the turning point for the teenage sensation as his astonishing 1:43:76 run in the final in Nairobi was way faster than compatriot Emmanuel Korir’s 1:45:06 winning time in the Tokyo Olympics final.
“After running the World U20, I went and looked for my mum, got her a piece of land and built her a home where she now lives with my younger siblings. Also, considering most of my siblings didn’t go to school, I focused on ensuring the younger ones got an education. They are worth every pain and suffering from my training,” said a satisfied Wanyonyi.
Wanyonyi has had an impressive 2023 season which started by winning gold in mixed relays at the World Cross-Country Championships in Bathurst, Australia in February before defending his Kip Keino Classic title in Nairobi in May.
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He then began his Diamond League campaign with a win in Rabat, Morocco at the end of May before another win in Paris, France in early June.
Wanyonyi would return to the Diamond League again in Xiamen, China when he won again at the start of September, setting the stage for the Diamond League final, the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon when he got his revenge on Arop by winning the Diamond Trophy in a time of 1:42.80 to close his track season in style.
With the 2024 Paris Olympics next, there are high hopes that he is the man who will reclaim David Rudisha’s Olympics gold in Paris.
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