Emmanuel Wanyonyi ran the fastest time in the 800 meters since 2012. His victory in the Kenyan Olympic qualifier and his time of 1:41.70 also earned him a place at the Paris Olympics.
Only 19 years old Emmanuel Wanyonyi clocked the time in Kenya’s Olympic qualifiers. His victory was so clear that he even loosened up a bit in the last meters. Despite this, he ran the third fastest time ever in the 800 meters.
Only two-time Kenyan Olympic and world champion and ME man have run faster than Wanyonyi David Rushida and Denmark Wilson Kipketer. Rushida’s ME time is 1.4.91. He has also run second and third fastest times. Kipketer’s fastest time is 1:41.11, and he held the world record for almost 13 years.
However, it was close that Wanyonyi would not have made it to the finals at all. He fell in the semifinals on Friday and finished sixth.
– If I hadn’t fallen yesterday, I wouldn’t have run like this today, so everything has a reason, Wanyonyi said.
A year ago, Wanyonyi won silver in the 800 meters at the World Championships in Budapest.
Source: AP