Olympic 800m champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi rekindles his rivalry with world champion Marco Arop of Canada at the Silesia Diamond League in Poland on Sunday.
Wanyonyi, also the world mile record holder, outpaced Arop at the Paris Olympics in a thrilling final, clinching gold in 1:41.19 – just one-hundredth of a second ahead of Arop’s 1:41.20.
The 20-year-old’s performance in Paris propelled him to the record books as the third-fastest man over 800m, trailing only Denmark’s Wilson Kipketer (1:41.11) and world record holder David Rudisha (1:40.91).
Arop got one over Wanyonyi at last year’s World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, where the Canadian clinched the title in 1:44.24. Wanyonyi trailed in 1:44.53.
Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati, the Olympic bronze medallist and 2022 World silver medallist, will seek to outdo the duo.
Wanyonyi is joined by compatriot Wyclife Kinyamal, a two-time Commonwealth Games winner — Gold Coast 2018 (1:45.11) and Birmingham 2022 (1:47.52).
The field also includes world bronze medallist Ben Pattison of Britain, world indoor champion Bryce Hoppel of the USA, European champion Gabriel Tual of France and European silver medallist Mohamed Attaoui of Spain.
The men’s 3,000m steeplechase promises a clash of titans, featuring all three Paris Olympic medallists—Morocco’s Soufiane El Bakkali, USA’s Kenneth Rooks and Abraham Kibiwot.
The 2021 World U20 champion, Amos Serem targets redemption after finishing 14th at the Paris Olympic Games.
Meanwhile, Ronald Kwemoi, fresh from clinching a 5,000m silver medal at the Olympics, drops to the 3,000m, where he faces Olympic 5,000m champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway.
Kwemoi is joined by 2023 Riga 5km Road running bronze medallist Nicholas Kimeli.
Susan Ejore, who finished sixth at the Olympics, faces medallists Britain’s Georgia Bell (silver) and Jessica Hull of Australia (bronze).
At the Olympics, Ejore was rewarded with a lifetime best of 3:56.07.
World silver medallist Diribe Welteji and world indoor champion Freweyni Hailu spearhead the Ethiopian challenge.
USA’s world indoor bronze medallist Emily Mackay and Japan’s 2018 World U20 3,000m champion Nozomi Tanaka add depth to the lineup.
