Wanyonyi targets historic fourth Diamond League trophy in Brussels

Olympic and World 800m champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi takes centre stage tonight at Brussels’ King Baudouin Stadium as he bids to make history by winning a fourth consecutive Diamond League Finals trophy.

The Kenyan middle-distance star has dominated the competition since 2023, when he captured his first title at the Prefontaine Classic final at Hayward Field.

Wanyonyi produced a powerful finishing kick to win in 1:42.80, edging Canada’s Marco Arop, who clocked 1:42.85, while Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati finished third in 1:43.06.

He successfully defended his crown in Zurich in 2024, storming to victory in 1:41.76 ahead of Sedjati (1:41.83), with fellow Algerian Slimane Moula taking third in 1:43.52.

The Zurich triumph was particularly impressive because Wanyonyi entered the race battling stomach problems and feared the condition could affect his performance.

“Before the start of the race, I had a big problem with my stomach. I thought that maybe I could not finish the race well. But I just came here to win,” he said.

However, the Kenyan found his rhythm once the race began.

“During the race I felt that my body was responding to run fast. So I just pushed myself to try to run fast and to run my own race,” Wanyonyi added.

His 2024 Diamond League campaign had started frustratingly, with the Kenyan twice finishing runner-up before turning his season around in spectacular fashion.

He clocked 1:43.56 to finish second in Rabat on May 31 before suffering another narrow defeat in Oslo. There, his 1:42.09 was just 0.01 seconds slower than American Cooper Lutkenhaus, who won in 1:42.08.

Wanyonyi responded in Monaco by rewriting the men’s 1,000m world record. His stunning 2:11.83 erased the 27-year-old mark of 2:11.96 set by compatriot Noah Ngeny in 1999.

The performances underlined Wanyonyi’s growing versatility and resilience as he continued his march towards the top of world middle-distance running.