Wanyonyi maintains modest targets for Tokyo

"I will be happy with any medal." 

A statement from reigning Olympic 800m champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi moments after winning his first Diamond League (DL), when asked what his targets this season were, begs the question whether he is being modest or strategic. 

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Wanyonyi delivered a statement performance at the Oslo DL, storming to victory in a loaded men’s field with a season's best of 1:42.78 on Thursday, 12 June in Norway. 

"The race was very fast for me. I am happy to have run this time as I was not feeling well. To achieve this under such conditions shows that I am progressing well with preparations for Tokyo,” he said after the race where he finished ahead of Spain’s Mohammed Attaoui (1:42.90) and Djamel Sedjati of Algeria (1:43.06). 

Coming on the back of a 1:43.37 to finish third in Doha, last month, the 20-year-old who began his season with a loss in his signature race seems to have found his momentum. 

His first race came in February’s national cross country championships after which Wanyonyi lay low until April, where he made headlines at the Grand Slam Track, racing the 1500m distance, and taking down the Olympic podium of Cole Hocker, Josh Kerr, and Yared Nuguse at Kingston.

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He completed the meet with a second-place finish in 800m behind nemesis Marco Arop. 

On Saturday, 26 April, he was back on the roads, this time at the Adizero: Roads to Records one-mile road race, carrying the day with a 3:52.45 show against a formidable field that had the American duo of Hobbs Kessler and Nico Young completing the podium in 3:54.34 and 3:54.50, respectively

Despite Oslo being his first win of the season in the 800m, he remains a favourite for the World title, having settled for silver in Budapest back in 2023. He, however, continues to downplay that tag. 

"It is a very competitive field at the moment. We have runners springing up from nowhere and changing the dynamic. Anyone can run a 1:40 easily and so for Tokyo, I will be happy with any medal," the former World U20 champion continues. 

Arop and Botswana’s Tshepiso Masalela are seen as the Kenyan's top competition in Tokyo, the latter also leading the charge for Wanyonyi's DL trophy that he has won back-to-back in the last two seasons. 

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