Millions Emmanuel Wanyonyi earned after record-breaking Monaco Diamond League run
Reading Time: 2min | Tue. 14.07.26. | 16:23
The Kenyan is also expected to receive an undisclosed appearance fee, which will further increase his earnings from the event
Olympic and world 800m champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi walked away with close to Ksh8 million after producing a historic world record performance at the Monaco Diamond League.
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Wanyonyi shattered Noah Ngeny's 27-year-old 1000m world record on Friday, 10 July, earning not only victory but also the lucrative World Athletics Diamond League world record bonus.
A Diamond League race winner receives $10,000 (approximately Ksh1.3 million) in prize money. However, athletes who break a world record are awarded an additional $50,000 (approximately Ksh6.4 million) bonus.
That means Wanyonyi pocketed $60,000 (approximately Ksh7.7 million) from his memorable outing in Monaco, making him the biggest financial winner at the meeting.
The Kenyan is also expected to receive an undisclosed appearance fee, which will further increase his earnings from the event.
Making his highly anticipated debut over the rarely contested 1000m distance, Wanyonyi clocked a stunning 2:11.83, lowering Ngeny's previous world record of 2:11.96 by 0.13 seconds.
Ngeny had set the record in Rieti, Italy, on September 5, 1999, and it had remained untouched for 27 years, largely because the 1000m is rarely featured at major championships or elite meetings.
The Monaco race had been billed as the ideal opportunity for the record to fall, attracting one of the strongest 1000m fields assembled in recent years.
Wanyonyi lined up alongside Algeria's Djamel Sedjati, Spain's Mohamed Attaoui, American Bryce Hoppel, and Britain's former 1500m world champion Jake Wightman.
The Kenyan settled into third place during the early stages as pacemakers Yanis Ouerrat and Poland's Patryk Sieradzki dictated the pace. Wightman remained within striking distance as the field followed closely.
At the bell, reached in 1:17.69, Wanyonyi had moved into second place. Once Ouerrat stepped aside after completing his pacing duties, the Kenyan immediately seized control of the race.
Showing the devastating finishing kick that has become his trademark, Wanyonyi surged away from the field to cross the line in 2:11.83, setting both a new world record and a world-leading time in his first-ever competitive 1000m race.
Wightman finished second in a personal best of 2:14.11, with the rest of the field unable to match Wanyonyi's blistering pace.
The Monaco heroics cap an impressive 2026 campaign for the Kenyan middle-distance star.
Wanyonyi opened his season by stepping up to the 1,500m at the Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi, where he claimed victory in 3:34.11, finishing ahead of world bronze medallist Reynold Cheruiyot.
He then returned to the Diamond League over his preferred 800m, finishing second in Rabat after clocking 1:43.56 behind Britain's Max Burgin, before suffering another narrow defeat in Oslo, where American Cooper Lutkenhaus edged him by just one hundredth of a second, winning in 1:42.08 to Wanyonyi's 1:42.09.