Mary Moraa and Emmanuel Wanyonyi dazzle in Lausanne Diamond League meeting

Emmanuel Wanyonyi picked up from where he left off at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games by winning the 800 metres race at the Lausanne stage of the 2024 Diamond League, setting a meet record time of 1:41.11.

This remarkable performance saw the Olympic champion not only set a new world-leading time for the event but also improve on his previous personal best of 1:41.19, which he achieved when he won the gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Wanyonyi's dominance continues to make headlines as he inches closer to breaking the longstanding world record in the event.

SO CLOSE 😤

🇰🇪's Emmanuel Wanyonyi storms to 1:41.11 in Lausanne as he goes equal 2nd on the 800m all-time list 🤯

Diamond League record ✅
Meeting record ✅
World lead ✅#DiamondLeague pic.twitter.com/Qd4I2XL02m

— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) August 22, 2024

Sudan-born Canadian Marco Arop, who had settled for the silver medal in the 800 metres at the Paris Olympics, once again found himself playing second fiddle to Wanyonyi. Arop crossed the finish line in second place with an impressive time of 1:41.72. Frenchman Gabriel Tual rounded out the top three, clocking in at 1:42.30.

Despite Wanyonyi's impressive performance, which also set a new Diamond League record for the men's 800 metres, the quest to break David Rudisha's world record remains unfulfilled. Wanyonyi's time in Lausanne places him in a tie for the second-best all-time mark with Wilson Kipketer, who set the same time of 1:41.11 at the Cologne Grand Prix on August 12, 1997. The world record, held by Rudisha, stands at 1:40.91, a feat he achieved when he won the gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics.

The longevity of Rudisha's record is now under scrutiny, as the 20-year-old Wanyonyi shows great promise of eventually eclipsing it. Having dominated the 800 metres event throughout the year, Wanyonyi has won seven out of the nine races he has competed in. Moreover, he has run sub-1:42 times in four of his last six races, providing strong evidence that he is closing in on Rudisha's long-standing record.

In the women's 800 metres race, Mary Moraa continued her strong form from the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, where she won a bronze medal, by claiming victory in Lausanne with a time of 1:57.91.

Great Britain's Georgia Bell followed closely, finishing in second place with a time of 1:58.53, while her compatriot Rekkie Jemma secured third place, clocking in at 1:58.73. Uganda's Halimah Nakaayi, the 2019 World Champion, finished just outside the podium in fourth place with a time of 1:58.90.

In other events featuring Kenyan athletes, Reynold Cheruiyot achieved a personal best time of 3:30.88 in the men's 1,500 metres, finishing fourth.

His compatriot, Brian Komen, followed closely in fifth place with a time of 3:31.41. The race was won by Norway's Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who set a meet record with a time of 3:27.83, breaking his own previous record of 3:28.72, set on July 30, 2023. Olympic Champion Cole Hocker of the USA finished second with a time of 3:29.85, ahead of his compatriot Hobbs Kessler, who clocked 3:30.47 to secure third place.

In the women's 3,000 metres race, Kenyan athlete Janeth Chepng'etich delivered a strong performance, finishing second with a season-best time of 8:23.48.

However, the race was won by Ethiopia's Diribe Welteji, who set a meet record with a time of 8:21.50. The other Kenyan in the race, Margaret Akidor, also achieved a season-best time of 8:43.81, finishing in ninth place.

In the men's javelin, Julius Yego's best throw of 83.00 metres, launched on his third attempt, was only enough to secure sixth place overall.

Yego opened with a throw of 76.47 metres before improving to 78.88 metres on his second attempt. His fourth throw of 78.38 metres was his last successful attempt of the night, as his fifth and final throw was recorded as a foul.

The event was won by Grenadian Anderson Peters, who threw 90.61 metres on his third attempt, setting a meet record and a season-best for the 26-year-old. Neeraj Chopra of India, the silver medalist from the 2024 Paris Olympics, secured second place with a season-best throw of 89.49 metres. Germany's Julian Weber (87.08 metres), Ukraine's Artur Felfner (83.38 metres), and Japan's Genki Dean (83.19 metres) all finished ahead of Yego. Notably, Pakistani Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem opted out of the event.

In the men's 200 metres, Botswana athlete Letsile Tebogo continued his dominance by clocking 19.64 seconds to win the race in Lausanne.

Americans Erriyon Knighton (19.78 seconds) and Fred Kerley (19.86 seconds) followed in second and third place, respectively. Meanwhile, Liberia's Joseph Fahnbulleh finished sixth with a time of 20.18 seconds.