ATHLETICS
Frank Rotich 4 days ago

Olympic champ Wanyonyi to open his 800m season at Rabat Diamond League

Emmanuel Wanyonyi after winning 1,500m race at Kip Keino Classic. [Courtesy Absa]]

Reigning Olympic and world 800m champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi will begin his 2026 800m season at the Rabat Diamond League in Morocco on May 31.

The Kenyan star will be competing in his first 800m race of the year after starting the season strongly in the 1,500m at the Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi last month. Wanyonyi impressed fans with a personal best time of 3:34.11 to win the race in dominant fashion.

The Rabat meeting will give the Kenyan athlete another chance to show his strength against top runners. Among his expected rivals are Olympic finalist Max Burgin and Ireland’s Mark English.

Wanyonyi heads into the race hoping to continue the fine form that saw him enjoy a brilliant 2025 season. Last year, he opened his Diamond League campaign with victory in Oslo before clocking a world-leading 1:41.95 in Stockholm.

He later improved that mark to 1:41.44 in Monaco and ended the season by successfully defending his Diamond League title in Zurich.

Kenya will also have interest in the women’s 800m race where world champion Lilian Odira is set to make only her second Diamond League appearance. Odira started her 2026 season at the Kip Keino Classic, finishing second in 1:59.15.

Veteran Kenyan javelin thrower Julius Yego will also compete in Rabat. Yego recently won a record sixth African title after throwing 79.87m at the African Championships in Ghana.

The Rabat Diamond League, officially known as the Meeting International Mohammed VI d’Athlétisme, is the third stop of the 2026 Diamond League season. The series began in Shanghai earlier this month and will end with the finals in Brussels in September.