Wanyonyi, Kinyamal qualifies for the 800m semifinals in Paris

Olympics August 7 – Kenyans athletes Emmanuel Wanyonyi and Wycliffe Kinyamal on Wednesday sailed through to the semifinals in the 800m of the Paris Olympic Games at the Stade de France.

Wanyonyi took charge of the third heat finishing first in 1:44.64 ahead of Italy’s Catalin Tecuceanu who timed 1:44.80, while Andreas Kramer was third in 1:44.93.

Wanyonyi’s career grew steadily after winning the World Under-20 Championships in Nairobi in 2021, before he went ahead to represent Kenya in the 2022 World Championships where he emerged fourth in the two lap race. Many people hail him as the true replacement for Lekuta David Rudisha who was the king in 800M race.

Currently, Wanyonyi has the second fastest time in the world at 1:41.58, behind Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati with 1:41.46.

At the 2023 World Championships in Budapest. Hungary, he secured a silver medal behind Canada’s Marco Arop.

In the second heat, Kenyan Koitatoi Kidali finished fifth after clicking 1:45.84 as France’s Gabriel Tual secured victory in 1:45.13 ahead of Ireland’s Mark English, who clocked 1:45.15, with Botswana’s Tshepiso Masalela finishing third in 1:45.58.

In the fifth heat, Kinyamal finished third after clocking 1:45.86 in a race won by Great Britain’s Ben Pattison, who clocked 1:45.56, with South Africa’s Edmund Du Plessis coming second in 1:45.73.

Kidali will have another opportunity to qualify for the semis in the repechage on Thursday afternoon. The semifinals will be on Friday while the final will be on Saturday night.