Wanyonyi eyes 1,500m future after a stunning personal best in Kingston

OLYMPIC 800m champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi has revealed plans to shift his focus to the 1,500m next year after a jaw-dropping performance at the Grand Slam Track meet in Kingston, Jamaica.

The 20-year-old Kenyan stormed to a new personal best of 3:35.18 in the metric mile early Sunday morning (2:50 am), stunning a field packed with Olympic medallists. His time slashed nearly eight seconds off his previous best of 3:43.19 set in 2022 at Nairobi’s Nyayo Stadium.

Running with authority and confidence, Wanyonyi out-kicked Americans Yared Nuguse (3:35.36) and Cole Hocker (3:35.52), who settled for second and third, respectively.

Britain’s Olympic bronze medallist Josh Kerr finished fifth in 3:35.61, while 800m Olympic silver medallist Marco Arop crossed sixth in 3:39.65.

With his star rising rapidly, Wanyonyi is now entertaining the idea of extending his range to 1,500m. “The performance showed me I need to prepare more for the 1500 m.

Maybe next year, I’ll focus on it more, but this year, my main goal remains the 800m at the World Championships,” Wanyonyi said.

He believes the time is ripe to bring back the country’s dominance in the distance. “I even surprised myself in the race and it has shown me I need to prepare more in the 1,500m and bring it back home.”

Kenya has endured a lean run in the 1,500m on the global stage in recent years, with the last Olympic title coming in Beijing 2008 through Asbel Kiprop.

Timothy Cheruiyot delivered the country’s most recent World Championship gold in 2019, following an eight-year dominance at the Championships since Daegu 2011 courtesy of Kiprop. Beating Olympic competition in their specialist event left the reigning 800m king beaming with pride.

“It was not easy to run against Yared, Nuguse and Kerr, the Olympic medallist, but I am glad I beat them and won,” he asserted.

Wanyonyi, a master tactician over two laps, said his strategy was to stay tucked in with the leaders before unleashing his finishing speed.

“I told myself I am here to run and win the race. My tactic during the race was to ensure I stayed with the leading group and then make my move towards the end,” he said

. Despite the win, he noted that the early pace was slower than expected. “The pace was slow, but the last lap was a bit faster. I am still grateful I was able to win,” he added.