Emmanuel Wanyonyi Reveals Back Injury Nearly Forced Him Out of Ultimate Championships 800m Final

Reigning Olympic 800m champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi has shed light on the physical setbacks that hampered his performance at the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest, Hungary.

The reigning world 800m champion settled for third place in a fiercely contested men's 800m final, crossing the line in 1:42.44 behind Algeria's Djamel Sedjati (1:41.91), who took gold, and Canada's Marco Arop (1:42.28), who claimed silver.

Despite missing out on the top step of the podium in his season finale, Emmanuel Wanyonyi expressed peace with his third-place finish, revealing that a painful back issue almost forced him to withdraw from the race entirely.

Addressing his performance after the race, Emmanuel Wanyonyi explained that severe discomfort in his back flared up right before the final.

Although his technical team advised him to pull out of the showpiece event to avoid long-term damage, the 22-year-old star insisted on lacing up his spikes one last time before closing his 2026 campaign.

Reflecting on his decision to push through the discomfort, Wanyonyi stood by his choice to step onto the track in Budapest.

"I feel good. The race was good. I’ve finished in third place, and I don’t regret. I came here to try and win the race, but since yesterday, I felt like my back was cracking even my coach told me that it was better to cancel the race but I told him that since it was my last race of the season, I just had to compete," he said.

The men's 800m final unfolded at a blistering pace, with Canada's Marco Arop pushing the tempo on the opening lap before Sedjati launched a decisive late charge down the home straight.

Emmanuel Wanyonyi maintained contact with the leaders throughout the two-lap clash but conceded that his physical limitations restricted his explosive finishing kick.

Describing how his body felt during the race and commenting on Arop's aggressive front-running tactics, Wanyonyi shared.

"No, Marco Arop was okay; that pace was okay for me. I think he wanted to make the race faster, which is a good thing. I think my body was a bit heavy because of my back issue, but I gave his race my all," he added.

The physical strain was evident even before Wanyonyi stepped onto the track for the final. Attempting to manage the discomfort using medical tape during his warm-up routines yielded little relief.

Opening up on the broader physical struggles that defined his year, Wanyonyi revealed that an early-season knee injury set off a cascade of training difficulties, even causing him to consider wrapping up his outdoor campaign earlier in the summer.

"When I was at the warm-up area, I felt some pain in my back and tried to tape it, but things didn’t get any better. According to me, this year my body was not responding to training well, and I even wanted to end my season in Lausanne. I struggled in training a lot," he added.

"I started my season with a knee injury, and then I worked on it, though my body did not respond to training."