Kenya’s Wanyonyi has made history as the youngest athlete to win the 800m gold medal at the Olympics, setting a new milestone in his athletic career and for the sport.
On the second to last evening of the Olympics, Kenyan athlete Emmanuel Wanyonyi clinched a gold medal in the men’s 800 metres final.
In front of world champion Marco Arop from Canada, Wanyonyi achieved his personal best time of 1:41.19 and took first place, while Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati won the bronze medal.
After the race, Wanyonyi spoke to journalists and shared that David Rudisha, a former champion in 800 meters, had given him the motivation he needed by insisting on his winning of an Olympic gold medal.
Wanyonyi expressed that the race brought immense pressure for him at this year’s Olympics. He had a conversation with (David) Rudisha, who reminded Wanyonyi of his responsibility to defend the title because Kenyans emerged victorious in the event during Tokyo Games’ last edition. Therefore, he considered it as an immense burden and was grateful to God when he achieved victory.
Masai Russell and Jakob Ingebrigtsen were among the other athletes who basked in the limelight on the closing night of track and field events at Stade de France during Paris 2024.
Finishing ahead of Cyrene Samba-Mayela and Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, Russell was the fastest in the women’s 100m hurdles.
Afterward, Ingebrigtsen snagged his second Olympic gold by powering through the finish line in first place for the men’s 5000m event. Ronald Kwemoi and Grant Fisher trailed behind him closely.
Wanyonyi, who finished second at the World Championships in Budapest last year, held onto his lead from start to finish and narrowly defeated Canadian runner Marco Arop by just one-hundredth of a second (1:41.19 compared to 1:41.20). Algerian athlete Djamel Sedjati secured third place with a time of 1:41.50 behind the top two runners.
Kenya has dominated in the 800 meters event, with Wanyonyi’s victory marking the fifth consecutive time a Kenyan athlete has claimed gold at the Olympics. Prior champions include Wilfred Bungei (2008), David Rudisha (2012 and 2016), and Emmanuel Korir (2021).
