Emmanuel Wanyonyi equals all-time second fastest timing in men's 800m at Lausanne Diamond League 2024

Emmanuel Wanyonyi continues winning streak in men’s 800m at Lausanne Diamond League 2024.

Kenya’s 20-year-old Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi produced the top performance of a towering night of athletics at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Lausanne on Thursday as he won the men’s 800m in 1:41.11.

That moved him to joint second on the world all-time list, tantalisingly adrift of the world record of 1:40.91 set by his compatriot and inspiration David Rudisha at the London 2012 Olympics. Wanyonyi’s time exactly matched the then world record set by Denmark’s Wilson Kipketer in 1997.

In a non-Diamond League race that included four of the five men who followed him home in Paris, Wanyonyi’s world-leading run was also a Diamond League record.

The pacemaker had taken the field through 400m in 49.32, a shade off the requested 49.20, with Wanyonyi a couple of paces behind him. The Olympic champion held off the challenge of Canada’s world champion Marco Arop, with the latter clocking 1:41.72 and third place going to France’s European champion Gabriel Tual in 1:42.30.

“I’m so happy to have run the world lead today in Lausanne,” said Wanyonyi. “I really loved the crowd and I hope for the best in Silesia.”

Also read: Neeraj Chopra finishes second at Lausanne Diamond League 2024 with new season best attempt

Jakob Ingebrigtsen wins title and sets meeting record in men’s 1500m at Lausanne Diamond League 2024

Among the other delights for a packed crowd at the Stade Olympique de la Pontaise was a revenge victory for Jakob Ingebrigtsen over the US runner who dispossessed him of his 1500m title in Paris, Cole Hocker. Ingebrigtsen reasserted himself in lordly fashion in the 1500m as he finished 10 metres clear in 3:27.83 – one of five meeting records set.

The 2021 Olympic 1500m champion, who earned the enormous consolation of a 5000m gold in Paris, led at the bell as the second pacemaker dropped off, with Hocker and US teammate Hobbs Kessler close behind him.

But as the trio made their way round the final bend, the Norwegian managed to create a five-metre lead that had doubled by the time he crossed the line, with Hocker coming through for second place in 3:29.85 and Kessler finishing third in 3:30.47.

“Its been almost two weeks since Paris so there was plenty of time to recover,” Ingebrigtsen said. “Tonight’s race gave me good answers and I´m looking forward to building on this for my next race on Sunday and the rest of the season.”

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