Feature 10 Jan 2024

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Emmanuel Wanyonyi (© Mattia Ozbot)

When Emmanuel Wanyonyi used to run near his home village in the Saboti region of Kenya as a schoolboy, people mocked him; Mike Rowbottom writes for the World Athletics.

 

Yet at 19, he has a world U20 title and a senior World Championships silver medal at 800m, and he finished his season by winning the Diamond League title with a world-leading PB of 1:42.80.

 

His sights are now set on this year’s Olympics.

 

Nobody is laughing at him now.

 

Speaking in Monaco, where he received the men’s Rising Star award for 2023, Wanyonyi explained that, historically, people in his Luhya tribe “have not been people who can run”, adding:

 

“More people who can run the 800m are Kalenjin. But I am Luhya. It is not our culture. I am the first one in my tribe to run the 800m. My family is six boys and six girls. I am the fifth of 12 children. I am the only one in my family who can run.”

 

With a dazzling smile, he concluded: “I have a talent to run. I like my job!”

Emmanuel Wanyonyi on his way to a championship record in the 800m in Nairobi (© Dan Vernon)

Mockery was only one of the factors working against the extraordinarily disciplined Wanyonyi as he sought to make the most of his natural gift.

He was obliged to leave school at 10 to become a herdsman tending the family’s cattle. Times were hard. Even more so when his father died in 2018, and his mother had to move away with several of his younger siblings.

But by then, he had gained a vital piece of knowledge.

“I knew from way back that the only thing that could save my family from this difficult life was running,” he told Olympics.org. “That’s why I just focused all my energy on training.

“After Covid, I went back to school to try to catch up,” he told World Athletics. “I would wake up at five in the morning to train. Then, I would go to breakfast and my class. After class, you go to training. Then shower. Then eat. Then sleep.”

Then repeat…

His talent as a runner was recognized, and he soon began training under the direction of Janeth Jepkosgei, the 2007 world 800m champion and 2008 Olympic silver medallist who was by then working as a youth coach.

Soon, he was linked up with her former coach, the Kenyan-based Italian Claudio Berardelli, who runs the 2 Running Club at Kapsabet.

Wanyonyi came to broader notice by winning the world U20 title in Nairobi in 2021 at 17, with a championship record of 1:43.76. The Olympic title was won later that summer by his compatriot Emmanuel Korir in 1:45:06.

Rather than defending his world U20 title in Cali, Wanyonyi decided to raise his sights.

“After that, I decided to go to senior level as maybe I could earn something good,” he said.

In 2022, he missed a medal at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon by just one place.

This year, he has built methodically upon that experience. His Wanda Diamond League season saw him win in Rabat and then Paris – setting a world-leading PB of 1:43.27 at the latter meeting.

Emmanuel Wanyonyi wins the 800m at the Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi (© Sila Kiplagat)

At the World Championships in Budapest, he came up again against the Canadian Marco Arop, who had earned bronze in Oregon the year before.

Before the final, Kenya’s double Olympic champion and world record-holder David Rudisha, who was present in the Hungarian capital as an event ambassador, advised Wanyonyi on tactics.

Rudisha, who set his world record of 1:40.91 in winning the 2012 Olympic title by running from the front, told his young compatriot on no account to do the same thing. Wanyonyi’s coach concurred.

“David told me, ‘Don’t run in front’,” Wanyonyi recalled. “And my coach told me, ‘Don’t run in front’.”

But once the gun went, Arop – usually a front runner – was playing a different game, waiting this time at the back of the field before making his move.

“At the start, I was in the front,” Wanyonyi said. “And I felt confused for the first 200 meters. I didn’t see Arop in front.”

However, the Canadian got there when it mattered, claiming gold in 1:44.24. Wanyonyi, despite his initial puzzlement, was not far behind, taking silver in 1:44.53.

At the World Championships in Budapest, he came up again against the Canadian Marco Arop, who had earned bronze in Oregon the year before.

Before the final, Kenya’s double Olympic champion and world record-holder David Rudisha, who was present in the Hungarian capital as an event ambassador, advised Wanyonyi on tactics.

Rudisha, who set his world record of 1:40.91 in winning the 2012 Olympic title by running from the front, told his young compatriot on no account to do the same thing. Wanyonyi’s coach concurred.

“David told me, ‘Don’t run in front’,” Wanyonyi recalled. “And my coach told me ‘don’t run in front’.”

But once the gun went, Arop – usually a front runner – was playing a different game, waiting this time at the back of the field before making his move.

“At the start, I was in the front,” Wanyonyi said. “And I felt confused for the first 200 meters. I didn’t see Arop in front.”

However, the Canadian got there when it mattered, claiming gold in 1:44.24. Wanyonyi, despite his initial puzzlement, was not far behind, taking silver in 1:44.53.

Emmanuel Wanyonyi (© Getty Images)

It was a massive achievement for a 19-year-old. Soon enough, Wanyonyi was working on how to beat the world champion.

At the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Xiamen on 2 September – running from the front with full permission this time from his coach – he did so, clocking another world lead of 1:43.20, with Arop second in a personal best of 1:43.24.

At the Wanda Diamond League final in Eugene later in September, the two rivals excelled themselves – and the result was the same, with Wanyonyi winning in a world-leading PB of 1:42.80 and Arop setting a Canadian record of 1:42.85 in second place.

“I like to run,” Wanyonyi said. “I like to compete. I like running against Arop. He is my friend and makes me train hard for our competitions. That’s why I need to keep my discipline for next year, for the Olympics.

“My target next year is to run 1:41. Some people say, ‘Wanyonyi, you can run the world record next year’. But I say no. The world record may come in a few more years, but I am still young.”

Meanwhile, Wanyonyi has carried out his long-term plan to make running work for his family.

His successes so far have enabled him to locate his mother and younger family members, build a house for them on their plot of land, and send his siblings to school.

His fame has also inspired other young talents from his village to take up the sport – without a hint of mockery.

“Many boys in my tribe now run,” he said. “My plan in the future is to open a junior camp. Then I will find someone who can run and train young men and women.”