by Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi believes that compatriot Kenyan David Rudisha 800m The world record will soon fall, but slightly minimal his own chances given the current force in the race for two laps.
Rudisha established the world record of 1 min 40.91 seconds when he won gold at the 2012 London Games, one of the most emblematic moments of athletics in recent Olympic history.
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For the first time in more than a decade, there is a handful of stars from a distance that seem to climb their own names as the main light of the event.
At the heart of this pack is Wanyonyi, who at only 20 years old was crowned Olympic champion at the Paris Games of last year, a year after sealing money at the Budapest World Championships.
Wanyonyi, who opened his season by winning $ 100,000 for the second (800 m) and the first (1,500 m) of places during the inaugural meeting of the Grand Chelem series of Michael Johnson in Jamaica, won four victories on the circuit of the Diamond League of this season.
He is now focusing on Wednesday on the 800m in Lausanne where four of the six best classified runners will find him: the Canada World Champion and the Silver Medal of Paris Arrop, the American pair of Bryce Hoppel and Josh Hoey, and Mohamed Attatoui in Spain.
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“Anyone right now can break the world record because the 800m right now is very competitive,” Wanyonyi told journalists on Tuesday.
“Everyone can run under 1:40: anyone, not only me. This technology (shoe) is very good for athletes. If you are doing well, you stay focused, you can succeed in running very quickly.”
Wanyonyi, a real poster for the humility he attributes to his difficult education, added: “My body is different from Rudisha. Rudisha is strong for the first round and I am strong in the second round.
“I have better endurance than Rudisha, but I have to respect Rudisha because he ran under 1:42 seven times.”
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– Rudisha the friend –
Wanyonyi himself sank six lessons under 1: 42.00,800m, with a personal record of 1: 41.11 taking place during the Lauamne League meeting last year.
It was a performance that consolidated his third place on the world list of all time, with only Rudisha and Wilson Kipketer above him.
“Rudisha is my friend,” said Wanyonyi, the best of which is 1: 41.44 in Monaco. “I remember the last time I saw him, he said to me:” It’s now your time to shine “. I told him that I respected him.
“I have time to improve myself, so I have to improve my best staff, then think about the world record.”
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One of the 12 children – six boys and six girls – Wanyony’s route to international fame was far from simple, starting with the early mockery because the race was not common in his Luhya tribe.
Family financial misfortunes saw Wanyonyi out of primary school at the age of 10 to work as a shepherd.
This economic situation worsened when he lost his father in 2018, a tragedy that saw his mother and his younger siblings move away.
WANYONYI, currently trained by Italian Kenya, Claudio Berardelli, was finally returned to school and was spotted by youth coach Janeth Jepkosgei, world champion 800m in 2007 and mid -2008 Olympic silver medalist.
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He quickly won the 800m at the World Championships under 20 in Nairobi in 2021 in 1: 43.76. The Olympic title was won later this summer in Tokyo by his compatriot Emmanuel Korir in 1:45:06.
A year later, Wanyonyi won his first Diamond League race at the age of 17 and finished fourth at the Eugene world championships, winning a first senior gold as part of the Kenya mixed relay at the Cross-Country World Champions.
– Financial must –
“I started to run because I come from a poor environment,” he said after buying a land on which he built a house for his mother and his brothers and sisters after his worldwide success.
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“I said (to myself) I have to run. I must be a champion once because I need to help my family. I need money to help my brothers and sisters, my mother.”
The Olympic final, he said, had been “a lot of pressure” and after crossing the line and kissed his mother, he was left by ruining the absence of his father.
“I wondered why my father is not alive? Because I need my father to see this race. I need my father to be there. Overall, I can say that it was very bad for me,” he said.
As for the world championships next month, Wanyonyi was Cagey, although he admitted that he had been stimulated by the experience of going through the schedules of the world and the Olympic race.
“I have to go, do my best to reach the final. So anything can happen.”
LP / PB
