Wanyonyi chasing after back-to-back victories
Emmanuel Wanyonyi of Kenya wins the men's 800m race during the Kip Keino Classic at Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani on May 7, 2022.
What you need to know:
- He will be in action on Saturday from 5.31pm when the men’s 800m is held at Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani in Nairobi
- Wanyonyi, who won last year’s race in 1min 45.01sec, ahead of Cornelius Tuwei, who clocked 1:45.49, and South Africa’s Tshepo Tshite, third in 1:45.51,said he had prepared well and was in no hurry to relinquish his title
- Also in the mix is two-time Commonwealth Games champion Wycliffe Kinyamal, Elias Ngeny, Nicholas Kebenei and Collins Kipruto
Former World Under-20 800m champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi wants to experience the same feeling he had last year -- joy of winning the Absa Kip Keino Classic men’s 800m in front of a cheering home crowd.
He will be in action on Saturday from 5.31pm when the men’s 800m is held at Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani in Nairobi.
Wanyonyi, who won last year’s race in 1min 45.01sec, ahead of Cornelius Tuwei, who clocked 1:45.49, and South Africa’s Tshepo Tshite, third in 1:45.51,said he had prepared well and was in no hurry to relinquish his title.
“This is my first race this season and I will be competing to gauge my performance in the event which is happening right here at home. My target is to finish as the winner.
“I trust my training. Running before a large crowd cheering you on is the best feeling for an athlete and it motivates me,” said Wanyonyi
He promised Kenyans a good show at Kasarani.
He added that since he will be meeting the same athletes he competed with last year, the competition is bound to be tight.
“Most of us will be competing for the first time with an eye on the Diamond League and later the World Athletics Championships.”
Wanyonyi, who trains in Kapsabet, under the management of 2Running Club will indeed face familiar rivals.
First up is meet record holder Ferguson Rotich who set a time of 1:44.78 in winning the two-lap race in 2020.
Also in the mix is two-time Commonwealth Games champion Wycliffe Kinyamal, Elias Ngeny, Nicholas Kebenei and Collins Kipruto.
Former 1,500m world champion Timothy Cheruiyot will also feature in the 800m race.
Last year’s third-placed runner Tshite leads the foreign legion that also has Botswana’s Masalela Tshepiso, Ethiopia’s Bodena Tolesa and Algeria’s Benmadhi Khalid.
Last year, Wanyonyi represented Kenya at the World Championships in Eugene, USA where he finished fourth in the two-lap race.
This was after emerging second during the national trials to select a team that would represent Kenya at the World Championships and the Commonwealth Games.
