Wanyonyi storms to Diamond League 800m title as Duplantis faces fitness scare

Emmanuel Wanyonyi delivered another dominant performance in Brussels, winning the men’s 800 metres at the Diamond League Final in 1:41.80 despite windy conditions.

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Today was all about winning and I knew that I would have to run 1:41 to win and I did.

The Kenyan Olympic and world champion checked the stadium screen with 250 metres remaining to assess his lead, then pulled away from the field. Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati finished second in 1:42.71, while France’s Yanis Meziane overtook Canada’s Marco Arop for third.

Wanyonyi said the race was about winning and that he knew he needed a time of 1:41 to do it. The victory marked his fourth consecutive Diamond League Final title and continued a run of form that has prompted speculation he could challenge David Rudisha’s world record of 1:40.91.

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I win now the Diamond League final for the fourth time in a row and that’s just fantastic.

Emmanouil Karalis won the pole vault at 6.12 metres after Sweden’s Mondo Duplantis withdrew with tightness in his leg. Duplantis said he did not yet know whether he could compete at next week’s Ultimate Championships in Budapest, which will offer a record $10 million prize fund and $150,000 to each individual champion.

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We will see if I can make it to the Ultimate Championships. I don’t have the answer right now.

Australia’s Cameron Myers won a dramatic 1,500 metres in 3:30.14, edging Kenya’s Phanuel Koech in the final strides. Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen, returning after Achilles surgery in February, led for much of the race but faded to fourth. Chase Jackson won the women’s shot put with a 21.14-metre throw, the world’s longest this season. Julien Alfred won the women’s 200 metres, Oblique Seville took the men’s 100 metres in 9.90 seconds, and Ja’Kobe Tharp won the 110-metre hurdles in 13.03.

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Right now adrenaline is still keeping me together but when I get to the hotel I will probably start crying.