Emmanuel Wanyonyi, fresh off his victory at the 2024 Paris Olympics, set a new meet record in the 800 metres race at the Lausanne Diamond League, clocking a time of 1:41.11. This performance saw him improve on his previous personal best of 1:41.19, which he recorded when he won gold in Paris.

Sudan-born Canadian Marco Arop, who had finished second behind Wanyonyi in the Paris Olympics, once again took second place in Lausanne with a time of 1:41.72. France’s Gabriel Tual came in third, crossing the line at 1:42.30.

Despite his strong showing in Lausanne, Wanyonyi still fell short of breaking David Rudisha’s world record of 1:40.91, which was set during the 2012 London Olympics. Wanyonyi’s time now ties him for the second-best all-time mark with Wilson Kipketer, who set the same time of 1:41.11 in 1997.

Wanyonyi has shown great potential throughout this season, winning seven out of nine races in the 800 metres and running sub-1:42 times in four of his last six races. His performance in Lausanne is the latest indication that Rudisha’s world record may soon be challenged.

In the women’s 800 metres race, Mary Moraa followed up her bronze medal finish at the Paris Olympics by winning in Lausanne with a time of 1:57.91. Georgia Bell of Great Britain took second place with a time of 1:58.53, while her compatriot Rekkie Jemma was third at 1:58.73. Uganda’s Halimah Nakaayi, the 2019 World Champion, finished fourth with a time of 1:58.90.

Other Kenyan athletes also performed well in Lausanne. Reynold Cheruiyot recorded a personal best time of 3:30.88 in the men’s 1,500 metres, finishing fourth. Brian Komen, another Kenyan, placed fifth with a time of 3:31.41. The race was won by Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who set a new meet record with a time of 3:27.83.

In the women’s 3,000 metres, Kenya’s Janeth Chepng’etich finished second with a season-best time of 8:23.48, while Ethiopia’s Diribe Welteji won the race, setting a meet record with a time of 8:21.50. Margaret Akidor, also from Kenya, finished ninth with a season-best time of 8:43.81.

In the men’s javelin, Julius Yego’s best throw of 83.00 metres earned him sixth place overall. The event was won by Grenadian Anderson Peters, who set a meet record and a season-best with a throw of 90.61 metres.

Lastly, in the men’s 200 metres, Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo of Botswana continued his dominance by winning the race in 19.64 seconds. Americans Erriyon Knighton and Fred Kerley took second and third place, respectively.