BY TOM ODULA
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Kenyan teenager Emmanuel Wanyonyi ran the fastest 800 meters since 2012 and his time of 1:41.70 on Saturday makes him the third-fastest man ever in the event.
The 2023 world silver medalist’s dominant performance at the Kenyan athletics Olympic trials qualified him for the Paris Games.
Only world record holder David Rudisha — Kenya’s two-time Olympic and world champion — and Denmark’s Wilson Kipketer have run faster times.
The 19-year-old Wanyonyi almost failed to qualify for the finals after he was tripped and fell during Friday’s semifinals, where he finished sixth.
“If I didn’t fall yesterday I would not have run like this today, so everything happens for a reason,” Wanyonyi said.
Rudisha holds the world record of 1:40.91 and has also run the second- and third-fastest times, followed by Kipketer with the fourth-fastest time of 1:41.11.
Ferdinand Omanyala set the world-leading time
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