Kenya’s Emmanuel Wanyonyi became the world and Diamond League 800m champion in 2025, a year in which he achieved four of the top six performances in the world.
Those performances included a world lead of 1:41.44 in Monaco and a championship record of 1:41.86 to get gold at the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25 – another global title to go with his Olympic crown from Paris.
Wanyonyi reacted to winning the track athlete of the year award
The 21-year-old reflects on his season and looks ahead to 2026.
On winning the track athlete of the year award at the World Athletics Awards 2025, just two years on from winning the Rising Star honour:
“I’m so happy and excited. I remember in 2023, I came here and I won the Rising Star of the year. Today, I am here again. I want to thank World Athletics for this journey. Second, I want to thank my fans a lot for the love they give me. I don’t have much to say, because I am so happy.”
On winning the world title:
“I didn’t take this race for granted. I wanted to do everything to secure the gold. I expected the race to be really competitive and very fast, but I wanted to make sure to just win this gold. Now, I need to defend this title. I want to be a double world champion. Maybe I will start to think about the world record too. It may not happen now, but I also want to win gold in Los Angeles in 2028. That’s the biggest goal.
“The race was fast and hard. I prepared myself mentally for it. I wanted to run a fast race, that’s why I went to the lead. I knew lactic acid was going to hit me. I ran a really fast first lap, and it was a hard finish as well. That’s why I had a surprised face after the finish. Everybody was strong.”
How Emanuel Wanyonyi maintains his consistency in the 800m race
“It’s not easy to be consistent, to win the 800m, because it is so competitive. This means that my future is bright in the 800m.
“If you want to run 800m very fast, you need to be focused, to be a strong athlete, because the 800m is not easy to win continuously.”
On the advice he received from David Rudisha in Tokyo, and whether he was targeting Rudisha’s world record:
“David told me: ‘I’m here to see you win this medal. Try to win’. I don’t have anything planned (in terms of breaking the world record). My plan is to make my body fit – I want to train well. Right now, I want to sit down and discuss with my coach about next season.
“In Tokyo, I said I would try to win, not to run a world record. I was coming to win a medal. I had a silver medal at the World Championships, so I was going in to try to win gold. I was not thinking about a world record at the World Championships.”
On his goals for 2026:
“In 2026, I want to run the 800m. For now, I can’t share with you my plans, because that’s my secret!“
