As the countdown to the World Athletics Awards 2023 continues, the governing body shines a spotlight on Kenya's Emmanuel Wanyonyi who has been nominated for this year's Rising Star awards.
He faces stiff competition from Jamaica's Roshawn Clarke and USA's Erriyon Knighton. The former placed fourth in the World Championships 400m hurdles.
Clarke then equalled and then broke the world U20 record with 47.85 in Kingston and 47.34 in Budapest.
Knighton on the other hand, won a silver in 200m at the World Championships and is also the winner of Diamond League races in Florence and Oslo
The winners of the awards will be selected by an international panel of experts and announced on World Athletics’ platforms on December 11.
Wanyonyi was among the nominees for the men’s Rising Star honour in 2022 and his continued progression this year has gained him further recognition.
The 2021 world U20 800m champion, who finished fourth in the senior World Championships final in 2022, started 2023 on a high as he formed part of Kenya’s gold medal-winning mixed relay team at the World Cross Country Championships in Bathurst in February.
That set the tone for another successful year, one in which he secured top-two finishes in all bar one of his 11 800m races, including heats and semifinals.
Four Wanda Diamond League wins were among those results, as he triumphed in Rabat, Paris, Xiamen and the final in Eugene.
Wanyonyi improved his PB four times – from 1:43.76, set when winning his world U20 title in 2021, to 1:43.32 in Nairobi in May, 1:43.27 in Paris in June, 1:43.20 in Xiamen in September and then 1:42.80 in Eugene two weeks later – a performance that claimed him the overall Diamond League crown.
It was also a world-leading mark and Wanyonyi ended the season with four of the top nine times to his name.
Wanyonyi – who turned 19 on August 1 – also now sits fifth on the world U20 all-time list.
As well as fast times, Wanyonyi further demonstrated his championship ability in Budapest.
Having safely navigated through the rounds, with wins in his heat and semifinal, he lined up for his second World Athletics Championships final.
After finishing fourth in Oregon one year prior, this time he stormed to silver, finishing just 0.29 behind the winner.
