Kenyan middle-distance star Emmanuel Wanyonyi has won the men’s 800m at the Brussels Diamond League final, securing the title for the fourth year in a row.
Wanyonyi produced a dominant performance on September 4, clocking 1:41.80 to set a Meet Record.
He finished almost a full second ahead of Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati, who took second in 1:42.71. France’s Yanis Meziane completed the podium in 1:42.87, a new personal best.
Wanyonyi’s victory adds to an already remarkable season for the 21-year-old Kenyan, who earlier had his historic 1000m world record officially ratified by World Athletics.
Wanyonyi ran 2:11.83 at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Monaco on July 10, 2026, becoming the first athlete in almost 27 years to break the men’s 1000m world record.
His performance erased a record that had stood since September 5, 1999, when compatriot Noah Ngeny clocked 2:11.96 in Rieti, Italy.
Wanyonyi improved on Ngeny’s mark by 0.13 seconds. He also achieved the feat on his debut over the distance.
The Kenyan stayed behind the pacemakers during the opening stages of the Monaco race. He reached 400m in 50.95 seconds before passing 800m in 1:45.11.
He then moved to the front as the race entered its decisive stage and held off Britain’s Jake Wightman on the final lap.
Wanyonyi crossed the line in 2:11.83 to win, while Wightman finished second in 2:12.77.
World Athletics officially ratified the performance alongside two other new world records.
“RATIFIED. New world records have officially been written in the history books,” the governing body posted on its official platforms.
The other ratified records belong to Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo and American hurdler Ja’Kobe Tharp.
Kiplimo ran 57:20 at the EDP Lisbon Half Marathon on March 8, taking 10 seconds off the previous ratified world record of 57:30 set by Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha in Valencia on October 27, 2024.
Tharp, meanwhile, clocked 12.75 seconds in the 110m hurdles at the NCAA Championships in Eugene on June 10. His mark lowered the previous world record of 12.80 set by fellow American Aries Merritt in Brussels on September 7, 2012.
