Emmanuel Wanyonyi Sets New Record in Men's 800m With Brave Run at World Championships

Defending champion Marco Arop, Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi, Olympic bronze medallist Djamel Sedjati and Navasky Anderson were among the strong men lining up for the men's 800m at the World Athletics Championships at the National Stadium in Tokyo, Japan.

After the heats and semifinals, the best of the best had now been assembled to determine who would walk away with the top prize. Kenya's sole representative, Emmanuel Wanyonyi, after finishing fourth at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon, and second at the 2023 edition in Budapest, Hungary, was now ready to win the gold medal.

Emmanuel Wanyonyi stunned a strong field at the Paris Olympic Games to win the race. He also lined up as the second fastest man in the world, tying with Wilson Kipketer, having run 1:41.11.

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Passing the 100m mark in the race, Emmanuel Wanyonyi surged to the front with Marco Arop running behind him in second. Max Burgin of Great Britain was also in the mix.

Emmanuel Wanyonyi was leaving nothing to chance, and after the first lap, he was still in the lead. Marco Arop was still in second place.

Emmanuel Wanyonyi showcased his class to handle all the pressure, but with the finish line in sight, the defending champion seemed to struggle a bit. Marco Arop then kicked on the outside, but his efforts were not enough to secure the win as Emmanuel Wanyonyi seemed unstoppable.

Emmanuel Wanyonyi held on to clock a championship record time of 1:41.86. Djamel Sedjati came in second in a season's best time of 1:41.90 as Marco Arop was forced to seal the podium in 1:41.95.

Emmanuel Wanyonyi made his intentions clear from the heats, where he comfortably took the win in heat 5, clocking 1:45.05 to cross the finish line.

Italy's Francesco Pernici was second in 1:45.11 as Ireland's Mark English came home in third, clocking 1:45.13 to also secure a place in the semifinals. Djamel Sedjati finished second in his heat as Marco Arop completed the podium in his respective heat.

Going into the semifinal, Marco Arop bounced back and secured a victory in 1:45.09, with Djamel Sedjati finishing second behind the Canadian in 1:45.09.

Competing in the third semifinal, the reigning Olympic champion finished second in 1:43.47 behind Spain's Mohamed Attaoui, who maintained his composure to the end of the race.

Coming into the final of the 800m, Emmanuel Wanyonyi knew all hopes rested on him to deliver Kenya's first gold medal from the male athletes, who have only managed to win a bronze courtesy of Edmund Serem in the men's 3000m steeplechase. Reynold Cheruiyot also claimed a bronze medal in the men's 1500m final.