On Saturday, August 10, 2024, Emmanuel Wanyonyi won gold in the men’s 800-meter race at the Stade de France.
Emmanuel Wanyonyi finished in 1:41.19, the third fastest time ever, trailing only the World Record of 1:40.91 set in London 2012 by legendary Kenyan David Rudisha by just 0.2 seconds.
Marco Arop of Canada, who started at the back of the pack but put on a strong second lap to claim silver in a continental record of 1:41.20, and Djamel Sedjati of Algeria, who won bronze in 1:41.50, presented Wanyonyi with a formidable challenge.
“This race was tough,” Wanyonyi confessed. ‘I felt more pressure because I knew it was not easy. Sedjati is not easy (to beat), he’s a tough guy.”
“So I needed to run very fast, that’s why I led from the start to the finishing line. It was not easy for me,” he added.
Men’s 800m: Wanyonyi, the 2023 world silver medallist, reigning world champion Arop, and Sedjati, who started the race as the fastest man this year, made up one of the best fields in living memory.
But with the boisterous applause from the Paris audience, Wanyonyi sprinted to the lead early and held it all the way to the finish, even though Canada’s Arop appeared poised for an incredible recovery.
“We couldn’t have asked for a better race,” said silver medallist Arop. “Still trying to take it all in. A little bit bittersweet because I wanted that gold medal so bad. I knew these guys have been running 1:41 all year. I imagined if I keep myself in it and finish strong it’ll be incredibly fast. It’ll take me a moment for it to sink in.”
This was the fifth Olympic final in a row to be won by a Kenyan athlete, while Arop’s silver was the first Olympic medal by a Canadian in the event since 1964.
