Emmanuel Wanyonyi (born 1 August 2004) is a Kenyan

middle-distance runner Middle-distance running events are track races longer than sprints, ranging from 500 metres up to . The standard middle distances are the 800 metres, 1500 metres and mile run, although the 3000 metres may also be classified as a middle-distanc ...

specializing in the

800 metres The 800 metres, or 800 meters (American and British English spelling differences#-re.2C -er, US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of a ...

, who won the gold medal at the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

in this event. With his personal best of 1:41.11 set at the 2024 Lausanne Diamond League, Wanyonyi and

Wilson Kipketer Wilson Kosgei Kipketer (born 12 December 1972) is a Danish former middle distance runner. With a personal best of 1:41.11, Kipketer is tied with Emmanuel Wanyonyi as the second fastest of all time over the 800 meter distance, behind David ...

are tied for second place in the all-time 800 metre list, behind only Wanyonyi's compatriot

David Rudisha David Lekuta Rudisha, State Commendations of Kenya, MBS (born 17 December 1988) is a retired Kenyan Middle-distance running, middle-distance runner who is the world and Olympic record holder in the 800 metres. Rudisha won gold medals in the 800 ...

, who holds the world record. Wanyonyi also briefly held the world record in the road

mile The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a imperial unit, British imperial unit and United States customary unit of length; both are based on the older English unit of Unit of length, le ...

, with a time of 3:54.56, from April 2024 to September 2024.

Early and personal life

Wanyonyi is the fifth of twelve children. He has five brothers and six sisters, and is the only member of his family who runs. Due to insufficient funds, he dropped out of primary school at age 10 and worked as a cattle herder to help his family financially. When Wanyonyi was 18, his father died, forcing his mother to move away with his younger siblings. Wanyonyi continued to run in his free time and was noticed by a teacher who convinced him to return to school. Wanoynyi's running ability caught the attention of Janeth Jepkosgei, who connected him with his current coach, Claudio Berardelli.

Career

2021–2023

Wanyonyi won the gold medal at the 2021 World Under-20 Championships, setting a championship record in the process. At the age of 18, he placed fourth at the

2022 World Athletics Championships The 2022 World Athletics Championships was the eighteenth edition of the World Athletics Championships. It was held at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, United States, from July 15–24, 2022, with the country hosting that competition for the ...

. At the

2023 World Athletics Championships The 2023 World Athletics Championships (), the nineteenth edition of the World Athletics Championships, were held from 19 to 27 August 2023 at the National Athletics Centre (Budapest), National Athletics Centre, in Budapest, Hungary. The tourna ...

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

, Wanyonyi finished second to

Marco Arop Marco Arop (born September 20, 1998) is a Canadian track and field athlete competing in the middle distance events. Arop is the reigning world champion in the 800 m, winning gold at the 2023 World Athletics Championship, after winning br ...

in the

, with a time of 1:44.53 while Arop ran 1:44.24.

2024

Wanyonyi broke the world record in the road mile with a time of 3:54.56 at the Adizero Road to Records event in

Herzogenaurach Herzogenaurach (; ) is a town in the district of Erlangen-Höchstadt, in Bavaria, Germany. It is home to two major international sporting goods companies, Adidas and Puma, and Schaeffler Group, a car parts manufacturer. Geography Herzogenaura ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, on 27 April. The previous record of 3:56.13 belonged to American athlete Hobbs Kessler, who finished second to Wanyonyi in a time of 3:56.18. Wanyonyi's record has since been broken by British athlete

Elliot Giles Elliot Levi Giles (born 26 May 1994) is an English middle-distance runner from Birmingham, specialising in the 800 metres. He won a bronze medal at the 2016 European Championships and holds the current road mile world record at 3:51.3. Caree ...

, who ran 3:51.3 in September. In June, Wanyonyi ran 1:41.70 to win the 800 metres at the Athletics Kenya Olympic Trials, making him then the 3rd-fastest performer ever over this event, behind Wilson Kipketer's 1:41.11 and David Rudisha's world record of 1:40.91. On 7 July, at the

Meeting de Paris Meeting de Paris (formerly known as the Meeting Areva and Meeting Gaz de France) is an annual track and field meeting at the Stade Sébastien Charléty in Paris, France. Previously one of the IAAF Golden League events, it is now part of the Di ...

, Wanyonyi came in second place to

Djamel Sedjati Djamel Sedjati (also written Sejati, , born May 3, 1999, in Tiaret) is an Algerian middle-distance runner specializing in the 800 meters. He is the fifth fastest man in history at the distance, behind Marco Arop, Emanuel Wanyonyi, Wilson Kipk ...

in the 800 meters, running a personal best of 1:41.58 while Sedjati ran 1:41.56. At the time, this made Wanyonyi and Sedjati the fourth and third fastest 800 meter runners in history, respectively. At the

, Wanyonyi won the gold medal in the

, in a time of 1:41.19, surpassing Djamel Sedjati to become the third fastest man in history at the distance, behind only compatriot David Rudisha and Danish athlete Wilson Kipketer. Only one hundredth of a second behind Wanyonyi was the 2023 800 metre World Champion

, who set a new North, Central American, and Caribbean area record. On 22 August, Wanyonyi lowered his 800 metre personal best by 0.08 seconds to 1:41.11 at the Lausanne Diamond League. This time tied Wilson Kipketer's 1997 personal best, making Wanyonyi and Kipketer tied for second place in the all-time 800 meter list, behind only David Rudisha.

2025

On 5 April, at the 2025 Grand Slam Track Kingston meeting, Wanyonyi, competing as a challenger, won the

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1500-metre run is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletics since 1983. It is equivalent to 1.5 kilomet ...

over 2024 Olympic medalists

Cole Hocker Cole Hocker (born June 6, 2001) is an American middle-distance running, middle- and long-distance runner who specializes in the 1500 metres, 1500 meters. He won the gold medal in the event at the Athletics at the 2024 Summer Olympics – Men's 1 ...

, Josh Kerr, and Yared Nuguse, in a time of 3:35.18. The next day, he finished second in the 800 metres behind Marco Arop. With 12 points earned in the 1500 metres and 8 points earned in the 800 metres, Wanyonyi was crowned the men's short distance Slam Champion of the meeting. On 26 April, Wanyonyi defended his title in the road mile at the Adizero Road to Records event, setting a new personal best of 3:52.45, which stands as the third fastest performance in history.

Achievements

National competitions

International competitions

Circuit wins

Diamond League The Diamond League is an annual series of elite track and field athletic competitions comprising fifteen invitational athletics meetings. The series sits in the top tier of the World Athletics one-day meet competitions. The inaugural season was ...

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

(800 m): Rabat Diamond League **

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

(800 m): Rabat Diamond League, Paris Diamond League,

Xiamen Diamond League The Xiamen Diamond League is a track and field meeting held at Xiamen Egret Stadium in Xiamen, China. The meeting is part of the Diamond League series, having replaced Shenzhen as China's host city and will continue to host one of two Chinese Wa ...

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

(800 m): Marrakech Diamond League, Lausanne Diamond League, Brussels Diamond League Final

Grand Slam Track

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wanyonyi, Emmanuel 2004 births Living people Kenyan male middle-distance runners World Athletics U20 Championships winners World Athletics Championships medalists Diamond League winners Olympic athletes for Kenya Athletes (track and field) at the 2024 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Kenya Medalists at the 2024 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) 21st-century Kenyan sportsmen