Paris Olympics: 20 year old Emmanuel Wanyonyi wins Kenya's fifth consecutive 800m gold

World 800m silver medalist Emmanuel Wanyonyi is now an Olympic champion.

The 20-year-old headed to Paris for the Games as the World's number one runner in the two-lap race and was solid throughout qualification, taking the title in 1:41.19.

He becomes Team Kenya's fifth winner in a row, in the distance, a dominance that was started by Wilfred Bungei in Beijing 2008.

David Rudisha won back-to-back, breaking the world record in winning his first title in London 2012. Emmanuel Korir ruled in Tokyo three years ago.

What's more, he becomes the youngest 800m Olympic champion while also running the world's third fastest time.

The Kenyan, who delivered the country’s third gold medal after Beatrice Chebet's historic double, went out quickly to hit the front immediately and dictate pace in the opening lap.

He took the bell ahead in 50.3 seconds, just a step ahead of home boy Gabriel Tual who was working hard to keep up with the Kenyan. 

Canadian Marco Arop, the man who denied Wanyonyi gold in Budapest at the Worlds was at the back of the pack going through in 51.1 seconds. 

As the world champion worked his way up the field, Tual was paying for trying to keep up with Wanyonyi while USA's Bryce Hoppel had moved to second with about 200m to go. 

Arop caught up with the Kenyan who defeated him in last year’s Diamond League final in what was seen as revenge for Budapest, and for a moment, he looked stronger but Wanyonyi held on for gold. 

Arop ran a new area record of 1:41.20 for silver as Djamel Sedjati competed the podium places in 1:41.50. Hoppel settled for fourth with a National record of 1:41.67. 

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