Wanyonyi, Koech among Kenyans to rock sold-out London Diamond League on Saturday
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Reading Time: 2min | Sat. 19.07.25. | 12:04
Elsewhere in Belgium, world 800m champion Mary Moraa will seek to rekindle her season, running the 400m
Olympic 800m champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi will look to claim his first London Diamond League victory on Saturday, 19 July, as the series heads to a sold-out crowd at the iconic London Stadium in England.
Wanyonyi, 20, who will be making his debut at the one-day event, is just days removed from setting a new world lead of 1:41.44 in Monaco, where he was attempting to break David Rudisha’s world record of 1:40.91.
Having come out strong and shushed the doubters in a strong field, Wanyonyi will hope to repeat the same feat in the 1615 EAT race, as he comes up against the men who joined him on the 2023 World Championships podium.
World champion Marco Arop will lead the rivalry, joined by home favourite Ben Pattison, who took bronze in Budapest two years ago.
Arop, in his first head-to-head Diamond League meeting with Wanyonyi this year, finished fifth in Monaco and will be eyeing revenge.
Other contenders in the field will include: Spanish record-holder Mohamed Attaoui, and the returning 2019 world champion Donovan Brazier.
Men's 1500m
Elsewhere in the men’s 1500m, Kenya’s standout talent this year, Phanuel Koech, will look to turn heads once again, as he lines up for only his second-ever Diamond League race.
The 18-year-old in Paris set the race’s World U20 record when he came home second in a time of 3:27.72, before taking a huge win in a continental tour meet in Ostrava, where he clocked 3:29.05.
His quest for another win will face stern opposition, headlined by world champion Josh Kerr, 3000 and 5000m British record-holder George Mills, and 2022 world champion Jake Whightman.
A fancied underdog will be Portugal’s Isaac Nader, who has also had a good season thus far.
Women’s 5000m
The only other Kenyan out on the London track on Saturday will be Tokyo-bound Margaret Akidor, who will run in the women’s 5,000m.
London calling 📞
— Claudia Ekai (@ClaudiaEkai) July 17, 2025
Emmanuel Wanyonyi & Phanuel Koech 🤩 @2RunningClub pic.twitter.com/6sfPZnouxa
The 23-year-old, who recently clocked a season best 14:30.34 at the Prefontaine Classic, will come up against Australia’s Georgia Griffith, and a big Ethiopian contingent carrying young Medina Eisa, Tesfay Fotyen and Hirut Meshesha.
Elsewhere in Belgium, world 800m champion Mary Moraa will look to rekindle her previous form when she runs in the women’s 400m race at the KBC Nacht event, which is a World Athletics Continental Tour Bronze meet.
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