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2025 could be year Wanyonyi intends to break David Rudisha's record but is in no hurry to achieve that feat
Paris Olympics 800m champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi reckons that he is not obsessed with breaking the 800m record even though it is one of his goals heading into the 2025 season.
Breaking the world record is about much more than just setting a time according to the 20-year-old who wants to remain grounded in his bid to continue with the imperious form.
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07:20 - 15.11.2024
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Decision to hang up spikes after becoming the first man to win three consecutive 100m and 200m Olympic gold medals backfired
"I want to leave a legacy. 'I'm not obsessed with it, but I believe it’s possible. I know there is a level I should reach and I'm not yet there," Wanyonyi told BBC.
The 800m world record of one minute and 40.91 seconds was set by compatriot David Rudisha at the London 2012 Olympics. Wanyonyi was just two tenths of a second off that mark at the Diamond League meeting in Lausanne in August.
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18:29 - 29.11.2024
'I didn't let it break me' - Emmanuel Wanyonyi on how early ridicule in his career strengthened him mentally
The Paris Olympics 800m champion faced a tough upbringing but that was the catalyst as it liberated him from the jaws of poverty to his newly-acquired status
Wanyonyi is the 2021 World U20 champion after cruising to victory on home soil. Aside from his victory in Nairobi, Wanyonyi also won gold in the 2023 World cross country championships mixed relay in Bathurst.
His success has allowed him to improve his family's circumstances, constructing three-bedroom homes for his mother and three elder brothers, and covering school fees for his four younger siblings. "I wanted to do what my father would have done for them," he said.
As he prepares for the 2025 season, Wanyonyi's family remain his underlying motivation. "When I look at my family and where we came from, it only gives me strength. I can't sleep and I can't rest. They have been through so much and I want to give them a better life."
Born and raised in Trans Nzoia County, Wanyonyi is a two-time diamond league champion.
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