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The men’s 800m race at the Olympics seems to be slowly turning into a Kenyan affair as the country has now claimed five straight titles following Emmanuel Wanyonyi’s heroics in Paris.
For the fifth straight time at the Olympics, a Kenyan has won the men’s 800m gold medal.
Emmanuel Wanyonyi clocked the third fastest time in history to claim Olympics gold at the expense of world champion Marco Arop in Paris on Saturday.
Emmanuel Wanyonyi - Paris 2024
Arop had beaten Wanyonyi at the 2023 World Championships but the Kenyan got his revenge in Paris, clocking a personal best 1:41.19 for gold, as Arop came in a close second in 1:41.20 while Algerian Djamel Sedjati, billed as the man to beat, finished third in 1:41.50.
With the win, the 20-year-old ensured the Olympics men’s 800m title remained in Kenya even after defending champion Emmanuel Korir failed to make it to Paris.
Wilfred Bungei - Beijing 2008
It is a fifth Olympics title in a row for Kenya over the distance, a trend that was started by Wilfred Bungei at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Like Wanyonyi, Bungei also stormed off early and held his nerve to seal the Olympics gold in what was his last final race before hanging up his spikes.
He ended Kenya’s 16-year wait for the title after William Tanui had been the last man to win it at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
David Rudisha - London 2012
Bungei was succeeded by David Rudisha, who conquered the 2012 London Olympics in style.
Coming into the race as favourite and world record holder, Rudisha did not just retain the title for Kenya but also lowered his world record to an astonishing 1:40.91, which still stands to date.
There was talk of the record perhaps tumbling on Saturday but the three leading contenders did not dip under 1:41 with ‘King David’ retaining his record.
David Rudisha - Rio 2016
Rudisha would become the second Kenyan to win back-to-back Olympics gold, after Kipchoge Keino (1968 and 1972 in 1,500m), when he defended his title in Rio 2016.
Emmanuel Korir - Tokyo 2020
He would soon exit the stage with Kenya left in limbo as to who would fill his big shoes but at the delayed Tokyo 2020 Games, Emmanuel Korir pulled a rabbit out of the hat.
He claimed a gold medal to ensure the title returned to Kenya for a fourth successive time and in his absence in Paris, Wanyonyi did the honours.
Just like with Rudisha, who conquered the world in his early 20s, Wanyonyi will now take over the mantle and there is great optimism in him since he just turned 20 this month.
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