Zurich DL: Emmanuel Wanyonyi fends off late charge to clinch victory
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Reading Time: 2min | Thu. 28.08.25. | 22:39
Wanyonyi, who had already set a world lead of 1:41.44 in Monaco last month, started cautiously before gradually making his way through the pack
Paris Olympic 800m champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi was in a class of his own after producing yet another commanding performance at the Zurich Diamond League on Thursday night.
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The youngster edged out stiff competition to storm to victory in 1:42.37.
Wanyonyi, who had already set a world lead of 1:41.44 in Monaco last month, started cautiously before gradually making his way through the pack.
By the 200m mark, he had surged into second, with Poland’s Patryk Sieradzki pushing the early pace.
Wanyonyi made his decisive move at the 600m point, powering to the front and holding firm as Britain’s Max Burgin mounted a late challenge.
The 20-year-old held his nerve to cross the line first in 1:42.37, just ahead of Burgin (1:42.42), while world champion Marco Arop of Canada settled for third in 1:42.57.
Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati finished fourth in 1:42.84, with Botswana’s Tshepiso Masalela closing the top five in 1:43.16.
Though outside Wilson Kipketer’s long-standing meeting record of 1:41.24, the win further cements Wanyonyi’s sparkling 2025 campaign.
Wanyonyi has been in remarkable form throughout the Diamond League season.
He announced his intent in June, clocking a then-world lead of 1:42.78 in Oslo before slicing it down to 1:41.95 in Stockholm just three days later.
His biggest statement came in Monaco on Friday, 11 July, where he lit up the track with a sizzling 1:41.44, the fastest time in the world this year and enough to make him the 10th fastest man in history over the two-lap race.
That performance spurred him to publicly declare his pursuit of David Rudisha’s world record of 1:40.91.
Wanyonyi’s consistency has also been striking. He backed up Monaco with a 1:42.00 victory in London and showed resilience in Lausanne, where he was edged into second place by American Josh Hoey (1:42.82).
Earlier in the season, he had settled for third in Rabat as Masalela claimed the then-world lead in 1:42.69.
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