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‎Emmanuel Wanyonyi is back in world-class form after the Weltklasse Zürich Diamond League meet on August 27. The 22-year-old Paris Olympic champion had been hovering all season in the 1:42 to 1:43 range. However, for the first time in 2026, he dropped into the 1:41s for the win. He ran 1:41.72. In 2025, he ran sub-1:42 three times, and in 2024, four times. This was his first this season.
The field
| Athlete | Country | Personal Best (PB) | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emmanuel Wanyonyi | Kenya | 1:41.11 | Qualification Spot |
| Marco Arop | Canada | 1:41.20 | Qualification Spot |
| Ben Pattison | United Kingdom | 1:44.02 | Qualification Spot |
| Brandon Miller | United States | 1:43.73 | Qualification Spot |
| Gabriel Tual | France | 1:41.61 | Qualification Spot |
| Cooper Lutkenhaus | United States | 1:47.58 | Qualification Spot |
| Mark English | Ireland | 1:44.53 | Qualification Spot |
| Max Burgin | United Kingdom | 1:43.52 | Qualification Spot |
| Eliott Crestan | Belgium | 1:42.43 | Wild Card |
World’s fastest all-time
Marco Arop from Canada ran 1:41:20 during the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. In June this year, he ran 1:41.84, also eclipsing the 1:42 barrier. The only performances in front of Wanyonyi and Arop in history are Kenyan David Rudisha’s 1:40.91 from 2012 and Wilson Kipketer’s 1:41.11 from 1997. Kipketer was Kenyan, then switched to Denmark for his competitive running career.
- David Rudisha (Kenya): 1:40.91 (2012)
- Wilson Kipketer (Denmark): 1:41.11 (1997)
- Emmanuel Wanyonyi (Kenya): 1:41.11 (2024)
- Marco Arop (Canada): 1:41.20 (2024)
- Djamel Sedjati (Algeria): 1:41.46 (2024)
