| Nationality: | Kenyan |
| Birth Place: | Kapretwa, Trans-Nzoia County, Kenya |
| Height: | 1.70 m[1] |
| Country: | Kenya |
| Sport: | Athletics |
| Event: | Middle-distance running |
| Highestranking: | 1st (800m, 2023)[2] |
| Pb: | 800 m 1:41.11 (Lausanne 2024) |
Emmanuel Wanyonyi (born 1 August 2004)[3] is a Kenyan middle-distance runner specializing in the 800 metres, who won the gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics in this event. With his personal best of 1:41.11 set at the 2024 Lausanne Diamond League, Wanyonyi and Wilson Kipketer are tied for second place in the all-time 800 meter list, behind only Wanyonyi's compatriot David Rudisha, who holds the world record.[4] Wanyonyi also briefly held the world record in the road mile, with a time of 3:54.56, from April 2024 to September 2024.
At the age of 18, he placed fourth at the 2022 World Athletics Championships.[5] Wanyonyi won the gold medal at the 2021 World Under-20 Championships, setting a championship record in the process.[6] [7]
At the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Wanyonyi finished 2nd to Marco Arop in the 800m, with a time of 1:44.53 while Arop ran 1:44.24.[8]
Wanyonyi broke the world road mile record with a time of 3:54.56 at the adizero Road to Records event in Herzogenaurach, Germany, on April 27, 2024. The previous record of 3:56.13 belonged to American athlete Hobbs Kessler, who finished second to Wanyonyi in a time of 3:56.18.[9] Wanyonyi's record has since been broken by British athlete Elliot Giles, who ran 3:51.3 in September 2024.[10]
In June 2024, Wanyonyi ran 1:41.70 to win the 800 m at the 2024 Athletics Kenya Olympic Trials, making him then the 3rd-fastest performer ever over 800 metres, behind Wilson Kipketer's 1:41.11 and David Rudisha's world record of 1:40.91.[11]
On 7 July 2024, at the Meeting de Paris, Wanyonyi came in second place to Djamel Sedjati in the 800 meters, running a personal best of 1:41.58 while Sedjati ran 1:41.56. At the time, this made Wanyonyi and Sedjati the fourth and third fastest 800 meter runners in history, respectively.[12]
At the 2024 Olympic Games, Wanyonyi made it through the heats and semifinals of the 800m. In the final, he won the gold medal in a time of 1:41.19, surpassing Djamel Sedjati to become the third fastest man in history at the distance, behind only fellow Kenyan David Rudisha and Danish athlete Wilson Kipketer.[13] Only one hundredth of a second behind Wanyonyi was the 2023 800m World Champion Marco Arop, who set a new North, Central American, and Caribbean area record.[14]
On 22 August 2024, Wanyonyi lowered his 800 meter personal best by 0.08 seconds to 1:41.11 at the Lausanne Diamond League. This time tied Wilson Kipketer's 1997 personal best, making Wanyonyi and Kipketer tied for second place in the all-time 800 meter list, behind only David Rudisha.[15]
2024 Paris- 800m gold
As of 28 September 2024, Wanyonyi holds the following track records for 800 metres.
| Location | Time | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1:43.83 | 24/08/2023 | ||
| 1:41.11 PB | 22/08/2024 | ||
| 1:43.84 | 19/05/2024 | ||
| 1:41.70 | 15/06/2024 | ||
| 1:41.19 | 10/08/2024 | ||
| 1:43.20 | 02/09/2023 |