Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi strikes world lead as he nonchalantly coasts to victory in Lausanne

Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi strikes world lead as he nonchalantly coasts to victory in Lausanne

Mark Kinyanjui 21:23 - 22.08.2024

Wanyonyi sets even better personal record just two weeks after clinching Olympic gold as he coasts to victory in the Lausanne Diamond League classic.

Emmanuel Wanyonyi is itching even closer to getting to equal David Rudisha’s record as he coasted to victory in the 800m of the Laussane Diamond League classic on Thursday night.

Wanyonyi, who was participating in his first meet since his Olympic heroics in Paris a fortnight ago, sailed to victory 1:41.19, taking off a fraction of the record he set when he delivered gold at that event.

Wanyonyi opted to use a different strategy to the one he used when he delivered gold in Paris as he opted to sit behind the pacesetter in the first lap.

Arop edged him out by the time the bell rang, leaving the 20-year-old with plenty of work to do if he was to stand a chance of avoiding defeat.

However, Arop faded away with 200 meters to go, allowing Wanyonyi to add more pace and overtake him, and he never looked like relinquishing the lead for the rest of the race, before getting over the line to set a new personal best record and yet another world lead.

"I´m so happy to have run the world lead today in Lausanne, I really loved the crowd, and I hope for the best in Silesia," Wanyonyi revealed after the race.

Wanyonyi will now be gearing up for the next Diamond League meeting in Silesia, Poland, where he will be facing Arop again, as well as fellow Kenyan compatriots Wycliffe Kinyamal and Aaron Cheminingwa.

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