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Emmanuel Wanyonyi is not resting on his laurels despite a glamorous season and has unveiled plans to make some upgrades going into next season.
Reigning Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi has opened up about the ambitious plans he has for next season after his amazing 2024 campaign.
Wanyonyi opened his season with the mile road world record at the Adizero Road to Records, fresh from claiming top honours at the Kip Keino Classic. He had a great build-up with the 2km run at the Sirikwa Classic Cross Country, something he believes opened doors for him.
He went on to claim top honours at the Diamond League Meeting in Rabat before racing at the Kenyan Olympic trials. Wanyonyi was not done making waves, finishing second at the Diamond League Meeting in Paris, before throwing down the gauntlet at the Paris Olympic Games with the 800m win.
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After the Olympics, he won the Diamond League Meeting in Lausanne and finished second in Silesia. In the final Diamond League in Brussels, Wanyonyi oozed class as he took home the trophy, successfully defending his title.
He intends to take a break but will be back on track soon as he looks to actualise the tons of goals he has for next season. As usual, he will start his season with the cross-country where he intends to upgrade to 10km but he is still unsure. After that, Wanyonyi aims to run a series of 1500m races to build his endurance.
“Of course, I have to do the cross country because it is a great build-up for me and I’m planning to even run the 10km or 2km and I need to run the 1500m next year. I will try to run the 1500m as I open the season. I love cross country because it helps me to maintain my speed from the start to the end of the season. I need to talk to my coach, however, and I see how I start my season,” he said in an interview with Runner Space.
The world 800m silver medallist added that before the Olympic Games, his season had a lot of pressure from people who wanted him to run faster times, hopefully break the world record and defend the Olympic title.
After winning the Olympics crown, the pressure was off heading to the Diamond League final.
“I focused on the Olympic Games too much since there was a lot of pressure on me but after that, I went and talked with my coach and we planned about the final. At the Diamond League final, I wanted to run my personal best time but I could not due to the weather,” he said.
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Emmanuel Wanyonyi admits to being 'pressured' by people over the prospect of eventually smashing David Rudisha's 800m world record
Wanyonyi has reflected on his stellar season but remained tight-lipped on his chances of eventually smashing Rudisha's world record in the 800 meters.
“I can say, to the young athletes, there is time for everything and you need to respect your coach and be disciplined and pray to God for everything. If you believe in God, you can do anything. I don’t like to go and enjoy the holiday and I plan to go and see my mother at home…I will enjoy with my family.”
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