Emmanuel Wanyonyi explains Grand Slam Track decision that earned him Ksh12.9 million
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Reading Time: 3min | Mon. 07.04.25. | 16:08
The youngster is not new to 1,500m races, having run it while in high school. He warmed up for the event with a victory at the third Athletics Kenya (AK) Track and Field Weekend Meet in Kapsabet three weeks ago
Reigning Olympic 800m gold medalist Emmanuel Wanyonyi’s decision to double in the two-lap race and 1,500m at the inaugural Grand Slam Track in Kingston, Jamaica, raised eyebrows, but the youngster had a plan all along, and it paid off handsomely.
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He lit up the track to win the 1,500m race in 3:35.18 before coming in second in the 800m race behind his long-time rival, Marco Arop of Canada.
Despite not clinching victory in the 800m, Wanyonyi's cumulative 20 points secured him the men's short distance crown.
That also saw him walk away with a whopping $100,000, approximately Ksh12.9 million.
Speaking on his decision to race in Jamaica, Wanyonyi noted that he was building endurance ahead of a packed season.
The campaign will culminate in the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo in September, and Wanyonyi is leaving no stone unturned in lowering his time.
“Why GST? Because I need endurance, and I need to challenge champions in 1,500m. I am here to have fun and run my race. I will not compare myself to anyone. 1,500m is like endurance training for 800m.
It is still early in the season, and this is how I am building up for the Tokyo World Championships,” he said in an interview with Letsrundotcom.
The youngster is not new to 1,500m races, having run it while in high school. He warmed up for the event with a victory at the third Athletics Kenya (AK) Track and Field Weekend Meet in Kapsabet three weeks ago.
He did not disappoint the fans who turned up to cheer him as he ran 1,500m and stormed to victory in 3:38:1, an impressive time by his standards.
“I felt very happy to run 1,500m with champions. I can run 1,500m very well that is my race. I did 1,500m in high school, and I am familiar with it.
It felt so nice to run 1,500m in Kapsabet, on home turf, I can go under 3:40 because that was a murram track,” he said.
As for the 800m, Wanyonyi is bracing for one of the most competitive seasons yet and is determined to post his personal best.
“Fast times in 800m are a result of training hard. Even this year, 800m will be very competitive. I will not say anything about the World Record, but I will run my personal best,” he concluded.
Wanyonyi and Ethiopia's Ejgayehu Taye were crowned overall champions in the women's long distance and men's short distance categories, respectively.
Taye completed a dominant double, winning both the 3000m and 5000m events. In the 5000m, she surged past Kenya's Agnes Jebet Ngetich in the final stretch after a thrilling shoulder-to-shoulder battle over the last two kilometers.
Ngetich finished second in the race and in the overall standings, ahead of Ethiopia's Tsige Gebreselama and Kenya's Hellen Ekalale Lobun.
In the men's long-distance category, Ethiopia's Hagos Gebrhiwet claimed victory in the 3000m, helping him rise to second place overall with 17 points.
However, USA's Grant Fisher, who placed third in the same race and won the 5000m earlier, held onto the top spot with 18 points.
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