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In a stunning display of speed and endurance, newly crowned 800m Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi once again proved his mettle on Thursday night by defeating his Canadian rival Marco Arop in a highly anticipated rematch at the Diamond League meet in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Wanyonyi, 20, surged ahead in the final stretch to clinch victory with an astonishing time of 1 minute, 41.11 seconds. This remarkable performance is the fastest in the world since David Rudisha set the world record of 1:40.91 during the 2012 London Olympics.
The Kenyan prodigy’s blistering run not only secured him the win but also shattered multiple records, including the Diamond League record, the meeting record, and his own personal best. This latest triumph comes on the heels of Wanyonyi’s victory in Paris, where he also bested Arop with a time of 1:41.19, further cementing Kenya’s dominance in the 800m distance at the Olympics.
Despite his best efforts, Arop, the reigning world champion, finished second, clocking 1:41.72—a wider margin than in their previous encounter. France’s Gabriel Tual rounded out the podium with a third-place finish in 1:42.30.
In the women’s 800m, world champion Mary Moraa made a triumphant return to the track, following her bronze medal performance at the Paris Games. Moraa delivered a commanding performance, blazing through the final 200 meters to secure victory with a time of 1:57.91. She outpaced Great Britain’s Georgia Bell and fellow Briton Jemma Reekie, who finished second and third, respectively.
Moraa’s strong form in the Diamond League continues, having won in Doha earlier in May before securing a second-place finish at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene. Although she had to settle for bronze in Paris, trailing Britain’s Keely Hodgkinson and Ethiopia’s Tsige Duguma, Moraa’s latest victory underscores her status as a formidable force in the women’s 800m.
In the men’s 1500m, Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen emerged victorious, pulling away from American Cole Hocker in the final moments to win with a time of 3:27.83, compared to Hocker’s 3:29.85. Kenya’s Reynold Cheruiyot and Brian Komen finished fourth and fifth, respectively, as the country’s struggles in the 1500m event continued.
The African champion Komen and 2020 Tokyo Games silver medallist Timothy Cheruiyot had disappointing outings in the 1500m final at the Paris Olympics, finishing outside the medal bracket. Reynold Cheruiyot failed to qualify for the final, further highlighting Kenya’s ongoing challenges in this distance.
In other notable performances, Botswana’s Olympic champion and African record holder Letsile Tebogo claimed victory in the 200m, clocking 19.64 seconds to edge out American Erriyon Knighton by 14 hundredths of a second.
The Diamond League season rolls on this Sunday with the next meet scheduled in Poland, promising more thrilling action from the world’s top athletes.
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