Kenya’s Emmanuel Wanyonyi needed one of the narrowest margins ever to win men’s 800m gold and locked in his nation’s fifth straight Olympic title in the event on Saturday.
Wanyonyi won in 1:41.19 and became the third-fastest performer in history. He only trails world record-holder David Rudisha (1:40.90) and Wilson Kipketer. And at age 20, he also became the youngest ever winner of the event.
“This race was a lot of pressure for me for this Olympics,” he said. “I talked with (David) Rudisha yesterday and Rudisha told me ‘you’re supposed to defend this title because Kenyans (won) the event last time in Tokyo (Games). So, I feel it’s a lot of pressure for me so I thank God that I can get it.”
Canada’s Marco Arop failed in a bid to overtake Wanyonyi and took silver in 1:41.20 — one-hundredth of a second off of the gold.
Wanyonyi wasted little time establishing position on the first laps and stayed up front until he was challenged by France’s Gabriel Tual shortly after the bell. He made a decisive move on the final turn and battled with Arop to the line — avenging his world championship loss to Arop in 2023.
“It’s not the first time we’ve had a finish like that, Wanyonyi and I,” Arop said. “He’s an incredible athlete. And you know, it’s not going to be the last time we have a race like that. Hopefully next time we race, it’ll be me on top, but I’ve got to give him credit where credit is due.”
Wanyonyi’s efforts on Saturday maintain an impressive streak by Kenya in the men’s 800m, now with five straight wins dating back to the 2008 Games in Beijing.
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