The Diamond League final was the last race of a long season.
It was a star-studded field, but the evening was chilly, so
really fast times were not to be expected. But Wanyonyi seemed
intent on winning the evening and finishing his season on a high.
The pacemaker did a decent job, but Marco Arop followed so eagerly
that he passed the pacemaker just before the bell already, in 49.28.
Arop may have hoped for a repeat of what happened in Silesia, but
this time he was unable to run away from the field. Instead Wyclife
Kinyamal, Djamel Sedjati and Emmanuel Wanyonyi stayed in close contention.
As they went into the final bend Wanyonyi seemed to lose touch a little,
and Kinyamal seemed to run out of steam completely, so it was Sedjati who
challenged for the lead, and as Arop was tiring Sedjati worked himself
into the lead. But on the last fifty meters Wanyonyi suddenly sprinted
forwards and overtook Sedjati with just two or three strides to go.
Another win for Wanyonyi in a near perfect season. Olympic Champion,
Diamond League champion, he ran 1:41 four times (which had never been
done before) and is now joint number two on the all time list. And
he only just turned twenty last month!
Result:
1 Emmanuel Wanyonyi KEN 1:42.70
2 Djamel Sedjati ALG 1:42.86
3 Marco Arop CAN 1:43.25
4 Gabriel Tual FRA 1:43.67
5 Eliott Crestan BEL 1:43.74
6 Wyclife Kinyamal KEN 1:44.00
7 Andreas Kramer SWE 1:44.30
8 Tshepiso Masalela BOT 1:44.34
9 Ben Pattison GBR 1:44.64
Marco Arop runs away with glorious win
In Lausanne the race had turned out to be a battle between Marco Arop
and Emmanuel Wanyonyi. But in Silesia the race followed a completely
different pattern. Although in both cases Arop was following the pacemaker
pretty closely.
But when the pacemaker dropped out Arop ran away at full speed, and no
other runner was either willing or able to follow. Arop opened up a big
lead, over ten metres, and did not seem to slow down at all. Into the final
bend the gap was still there. Onto the final straight and still none of the
others was able to get any closer. It was Arop all the way!
And so Arop finished all on his own, and set yet another 1:41 mark, the third
of his career. Wanyonyi led the others home, but it was only 1.37 seconds
behind Arop - in 800m terms that's almost like finishing next week. Perhaps
some runners are getting tired after a long season, but in any case,
Marco Arop was simply brilliant.
Result:
1 Marco Arop CAN 1:41.86
2 Emmanuel Wanyonyi KEN 1:43.23
3 Bryce Hoppel USA 1:43.32
4 Eliott Crestan BEL 1:43.48
5 Wyclife Kinyamal KEN 1:43.54
6 Gabriel Tual FRA 1:43.73
7 Max Burgin GBR 1:43.73
8 Hobbs Kessler USA 1:43.97
9 Andreas Kramer SWE 1:44.32
10 Aaron Cheminingwa KEN 1:44.60
11 Mohamed Attaoui ESP 1:44.96
12 Bartosz Kitlinski POL 1:45.56
Emmanuel Wanyonyi keeps getting faster
Another meeting, another opportunity. Now that he is Olympic champion Emmanuel
Wanyonyi has set his sights on improving David Rudisha's 1:40.91 World Record.
Pacemaker Ludovic Le Meur was asked for 49.2 and delivered 49.32. But it was
Marco Arop who followed him closely as Wanyonyi left a small gap.
Arop was therefore in the lead once the pacemaker dropped out, but seemed to
make a tactical error as he left quite a gap on the inside. On the back straight
Wanyonyi did not hesitate and stormed through. Perhaps Arop was hoping to catch
him on the home straight, but that hope soon proved to be futile, although Arop
still managed to run the second 1:41 of his career.
Wanyonyi grimaced as he finished in 1:41.11. Faster once more, yet not quite
fast enough. It's the exact same time that Wilson Kipketer ran in 1997 in
Cologne, when he set a World Record that stood for thirteen years. Wanyonyi
is now joint second on the alltime list. One wonders for how long.
Result:
1 Emmanuel Wanyonyi KEN 1:41.11
2 Marco Arop CAN 1:41.72
3 Gabriel Tual FRA 1:42.30
4 Bryce Hoppel USA 1:42.63
5 Pieter Sisk BEL 1:43.48
6 Catalin Tecuceanu ITA 1:44.07
7 Elliot Giles GBR 1:44.32
8 Mohamed Attaoui ESP 1:45.40
Emmanuel Wanyonyi wins Olympic gold in Paris
He was expected to take the lead and he duly did. In an incredibly fast race
young Kenyan talent Emmanuel Wanyonyi never looked back and led from start
to finish, even if his lead on the line was only marginal.
Marco Arop and Djamel Sedjati held back in the first part of the race, and
perhaps they didn't expect the race to be so fast after a first lap of 50.28.
But Wanyonyi has shown he can run 1:41 after a fast first lap and even though
Arop and Sedjati probably ran a negative split they couldn't catch Wanyonyi.
The race was so fast that several records tumbled. Never before had four athletes
run a 1:41 in a single race. And seven athletes running 1:42 or faster had never
happened before either. Bryce Hoppel ran a new national record by 0.67 of a second
and still only came fourth.
But the day belonged to 20 year old Wanyonyi. He was raised in a village where
running is considered unusual and soccer and rugby are the main sports.
Olympic Gold has now comprehensively proven he made the right career choice.
Result:
1. Emmanuel Wanyonyi KEN 1:41.19
2. Marco Arop CAN 1:41.20
3. Djamel Sedjati ALG 1:41.50
4. Bryce Hoppel USA 1:41.67
5. Mohamed Attaoui ESP 1:42.08
6. Gabriel Tual FRA 1:42.14
7. Tshepiso Masalela BOT 1:42.82
8. Max Burgin GBR 1:43.84
The 800m has changed completely in a matter of weeks. Times below 1:43 used
to be rare, seen just once per season (as in 2021), perhaps twice (as in 2023)
or even not at all, as happened in 2022. Marks below 1:42 were even rarer.
Only fifteen marks by five different athletes had ever been run until this year.
Fourteen of those were in 2012 or earlier, and half of those were by Rudisha.
This season it all started in Nairobi, with Wanyonyi sprinting to 1:41.70. Two
more Kenyans ran 1:42 in his wake. Then Bryce Hoppel led the field at the US
trials to win in 1:42.77. But the floodgates really opened in Paris, with no less
than three athletes running 1:41 and three more finishing in low 1:42's. Except
for Wanyonyi none of them had ever broken 1:43 before.
Now in Monaco another ultrafast race unfolded. Djamel Sedjati ran another 1:41,
and five more athletes ran 1:42. Mohamed Attaoui and Ben Pattison had never even
broken 1:44 before. And for the first time in history ten athletes ran below
1:44.00 in a single race.
That makes sixteen marks below 1:43:00 by eleven different athletes so far this
season already. On top of that we have seen five marks of 1:41 by Sedjati (twice),
Wanyonyi (twice) and Gabriel Tual. What on earth will we see at the Olympics?
Result:
1 Djamel Sedjati ALG 1:41.46
2 Mohamed Attaoui ESP 1:42.04
3 Gabriel Tual FRA 1:42.10
4 Aaron Cheminingwa KEN 1:42.13
5 Ben Pattison GBR 1:42.27
6 Marco Arop CAN 1:42.93
7 Andreas Kramer SWE 1:43.13
8 Eliott Crestan BEL 1:43.19
9 Catalin Tecuceanu ITA 1:43.75
10 Benjamin Robert FRA 1:43.95
Records tumble in spectacular Paris race
After Emmanuel Wanyonyi's amazing run in Nairobi of 1:41.70 expectations were
high for the meeting in Paris. But few would have foreseen how many records
would be broken on this special night.
The pacemaker (Sieradzki) did an excellent job. Wanyonyi was close behind and
crossed 400m around 49.5, world record pace. During lap two he managed to maintain
this very fast pace. But amazingly several other runners stayed with him. Djamel
Sedjati even passed him on the final straight, European Champion Gabriel Tual came
very close, and eventually these three sprinted to the line, where Sedjati just
edged out Wanyonyi for the win.
The results were breathtaking. Three men finished in 1:41 for the first time in history.
With only Rudisha and Kipketer ever having run faster the top three are now numbers
three, four and five on the all time list. There were big national records for Sedjati,
Tual, Crestan and Kramer. Never had three athletes gone below 1:42.50 in a single race,
and here no less than six athletes broke 1:42.50! It was a magical race.
Result:
1 Djamel Sedjati ALG 1:41.56
2 Emmanuel Wanyonyi KEN 1:41.58
3 Gabriel Tual FRA 1:41.61
4 Aaron Cheminingwa KEN 1:42.08
5 Wyclife Kinyamal KEN 1:42.08
6 Eliott Crestan BEL 1:42.43
7 Andreas Kramer SWE 1:43.66
8 Azeddine Habz FRA 1:43.79
9 Benjamin Robert FRA 1:44.30
10 Tshepiso Masalela BOT 1:44.96
World Champion Arop looks ready for Paris
Marco Arop is World 800m Champion, and he hardly needed to qualify
for the Olympic Games. But Arop decided to use the Canadian trials
to see if he was ready for Paris. And so he tried to run real fast.
Arop ran the semifinal and the final. Twice he took the lead right
from the gun. Twice he ran the entire race well ahead of every other
athlete. After all, apart from Arop himself, Canada doesn't have any
real top 800m athletes currently.
But Arop wanted to see whether he could run two fast races within two
days. And he definitely could! In the semifinal, on June 28, he finished
after 1:43.53. A day later, June 29, he won the final in 1:43.71.
It's only the second time in history that an athlete has run below
1:44 on consecutive days. The only other time this happened was when
Joaquim Cruz ran 1:43.82 and 1:43.00 in the Olympic semifinal and
final. That was all of forty years ago, way back in 1984.
Impressive run by Bryce Hoppel at the US Trials
The US trials are often a minefield for favourites. So Bryce Hoppel,
easily the fastest US runner this season, decided not to risk a
tactical and probably unpredictable race.
Right from the start Hoppel took the lead and kept the pace fast. A
first lap of 51.11 ensured that this race would be anything but tactical.
Only Brandon Miller could keep in touch as Hoppel ran on relentlessly.
On the final straight Hoppel ran away easily from the others and finished in 1:42
for the first time in his career, which set a new meet record as well. Behind
Donavan Brazier and Johnny Gray he is now the third fastest US athlete of all time.
Miller ran out of steam but still finished third as only Hobbs Kessler managed
to get past him. Hoppel, Kessler and Miller will therefore represent the USA in Paris.
Result:
1 Bryce Hoppel USA 1:42.77
2 Hobbs Kessler USA 1:43.64
3 Brandon Miller USA 1:43.97
4 Josh Hoey USA 1:44.12
5 Jonah Koech USA 1:44.32
6 Shane Cohen USA 1:44.65
7 Clayton Murphy USA 1:44.80
8 Abraham Alvarado USA 1:44.90
9 Tinoda Matsatsa USA 1:45.70
Emmanuel Wanyonyi shines at Kenyan trials
Emmanuel Wanyonyi is one of Kenya's brightest hopes for an Olympic
medal at the middle distances. So it was a bitter disappointment when
Wanyonyi seemed out of sorts during the heats of the Kenyan trials.
(It later turned out he had forgotten his race number and had to run
back to the hotel to fetch it - thus being exhausted at the start already!)
As he was trying to reach the front he collided with another athlete
just before the finish and fell. It was decided he was tripped and so
Wanyonyi was reinstated into the final.
It would be an understatement to say that Wanyonyi justified that
decision. Right from the start he took the lead and made sure the pace
was so fast that only a few athletes were able to follow. It seemed a
suicidal tactic, but Wanyonyi knew better. He did not slow down on the
second lap and turned his race into a demonstration.
At the finish the clock stopped at the stunning time of 1:41.70. Only
Kipketer and Rudisha have ever run faster, so it makes Wanyonyi the
third fastest athlete of all time. It is also the fastest time since
Rudisha's Olympic triumph in 2012, and the fastest time ever run on
African soil. Only five athletes had ever broken 1:42, and Wanyonyi has
now made it six.
Wyclife Kinyamal ran a big new PB to take second. Koitatoi Kidali had
never even broken 1:45, and to see such a relatively unknown athlete
run so fast was another major surprise. The Kenyans are ready for Paris!
Result:
1 Emmanuel Wanyonyi KEN 1:41.70
2 Wyclife Kinyamal KEN 1:42.50
3 Koitatoi Kidali KEN 1:42.66
4 Alex Kipngetich KEN 1:43.74
5 Aaron Cheminingwa KEN 1:44.51
6 Laban Chepkwony KEN 1:44.83
7 Festus Lagat KEN 1:45.16
8 Collins Kipruto KEN 1:45.97
9 Nicholas Kebenei KEN 1:46.29
10 Kelvin Loti KEN 1:48.70
Gabriel Tual is the new European Champion
It always promised to be a very open tournament. A few title
candidates stayed away, preferring preparation for the Olympics
later this season. But many others felt it was a great opportunity
to add silverware to their career, in a discipline where runners
from Africa and America often dominate.
And so the races started with four heats, two semifinals and in
almost every race it seemed there were at least six runners that
might well qualify. Spain, France, Italy, Great Britain and Belgium
all had three runners that looked able to go deep. But competition
was stiff, and many good runners failed to make it into the final.
Eventually Spain was the only country with more than one athlete in
the final. De Arriba took an early lead, Attaoui came from behind to
get silver, but it was Gabriel Tual who gave France a gold medal.
The home crowd were thrilled as Tecuceanu managed to score a bronze.
Result:
1 Gabriel Tual FRA 1:44.87
2 Mohamed Attaoui ESP 1:45.20
3 Catalin Tecuceanu ITA 1:45.40
4 Álvaro de Arriba ESP 1:45.64
5 Andreas Kramer SWE 1:45.70
6 Adrián Ben ESP 1:46.54
7 Elliot Giles GBR 1:47.06
8 Ole Jakob Solbu NOR 1:51.33
At the bell the 800m Diamond League race in Stockholm seemed wide open.
Although Ben Pattison had a small lead (behind the pacemaker, of course)
the other athletes were still bunched fairly tightly together.
On the back straight Pattison was still leading ahead of Bryce Hoppel.
But then Djamel Sedjati started moving forward and quickly reached the
leaders. As soon as they came into the finishing straight Sedjati sprinted
away and left the others miles behind. At the line his lead was more than
a full second!
With 1:43.23 Sedjati also ran a new World Lead, and he appeared to be as fresh
as if he had just taken a walk in the park. With the Olympics just a few months
away Sedjati must surely be a major medal candidate in Paris.
Result:
1 Djamel Sedjati ALG 1:43.23
2 Bryce Hoppel USA 1:44.29
3 Tshepiso Masalela BOT 1:44.44
4 Ben Pattison GBR 1:44.44
5 Benjamin Robert FRA 1:44.73
6 Elliot Giles GBR 1:45.10
7 Andreas Kramer SWE 1:45.27
8 Jake Wightman GBR 1:45.35
9 Slimane Moula ALG 1:48.02
Arop shows early form
The atmosphere was quite magical when the 800 m athletes lined up.
Just as they were ready to go Armand Duplantis jumped to a new and almost
unbelievable World Record of 6.24 in the pole vault. Would this inspire
the athletes? The pacemaker did a good job, reaching halfway in just over
50 seconds. As expected, Marco Arop was following him closely.
As soon as the pacemaker dropped out Arop took a serious lead, and only
Wyclife Kinyamal and Tshepiso Masalela were in a position to get close.
And Kinyamal did get close. He even drew level with just a few strides to
go and seemed the most likely winner at that point. But Arop found something
extra, and threw himself forward thus securing victory after all.
Rising star Masalela came third and can be happy with a splendid new PB,
running 1:43 for the first time. And the home crowd had something to
celebrate too, because Liu Dezhu ran a new Chinese Record.
Result:
1 Marco Arop CAN 1:43.61
2 Wyclife Kinyamal KEN 1:43.66
3 Tshepiso Masalela BOT 1:43.88
4 Alex Kipngetich KEN 1:44.76
5 Andreas Kramer SWE 1:44.81
6 Elias Ngeny KEN 1:45.37
7 Clayton Murphy USA 1:45.38
8 Abdellatif El Guesse MAR 1:45.65
9 Liu Dezhu CHN 1:45.66
10 Ethan Hussey GBR 1:46.20
11 Peter Bol AUS 1:47.02
12 Mark English IRL 1:47.14
Bryce Hopple is the new World Indoor Champion
After an eventful final Bryce Hoppel, who had stayed well clear of trouble,
took over the lead on the final straight from Eliott Crestan and sprinted
to the gold. Behind him Andreas Kramer nudged ahead of Crestan as well.
Benjamin Robert and a terribly disappointed Mariano García finished
way back. Robert was later disqualified after what had been a tumultuous race.
The root of the trouble had been the two very different semfinals. One was quick,
but in the other García had taken the lead, slowed the race down, then
outsprinted the others. His plan might have been to do the same in the final.
After all, he had also won the 2022 European Championships from the front.
But Robert had decided he was not going to let that happen.
Straight from the start Robert sprinted into the lead, bumping ahead of García.
The Spaniard wasn't happy with that. After one round he accelerated and took over the
lead, as Robert went backward fast. Hoppel was quietly following, but then Crestan moved
up, and as García was slowing down again the Belgian went around and across, and
so the Spaniard took a knock once more. García had now lost a lot of energy and
was fading fast as well.
Meanwhile Hoppel, who had avoided all these clashes, had saved the best for last.
He finished in a new World Leading time, and after winning a bronze medal two years ago
he has now added a World Indoor Gold to his collection.
Result:
1 Bryce Hoppel USA 1:44.92
2 Andreas Kramer SWE 1:45.27
3 Eliott Crestan BEL 1:45.32
4 Catalin Tecuceanu ITA 1:46.39
5 Mariano García ESP 1:48.77
- Benjamin Robert FRA DQ (1:46.80)