Emmanuel Wanyonyi has advanced to the final of the 800m final after impressively grabbing a ticket in the Olympic Games semi-final held on Friday, August 9, 2024.

The World 800m silver medallist will now tackle his global rivals, and Commonwealth Champion Wycliffe Kinyamal exits after finishing third in his respective heat.

Wanyonyi competed in the third heat and completed the race in 1:43.32. He showed class in a race that he led with his competitors trying hard to keep up with his pace.

USA’s Bryce Hoppel came in second and grabbed a ticket to the final after a 1:43.41 run. Max Burgin from Great Britain, who ran a personal best, clocked 1:43.50 to finish third.
Mohamed Attaoui of Spain, who finished fourth with a time of 1:43.69, and Elliott Crestan from Belgium, who timed 1:43.72, competed in the third heat too.

Kinyamal out

Meanwhile, Kinyamal could not get a ticket to the ultimate stage after clocking 1:45.29 in Heat 2.

As was expected, Canada’s Marco Arop finished in first place by clocking 1:45.05, and Gabriel Tual of France finished second in 1:45.16.

The Kenyan, alongside South Africa’s Edmund du Plessis, who finished fourth in 1:45.34, and Elliot Giles from Great Britain in fifth with a time of 1:45.46, failed to advance to the final too.

Djamel Sedjati from Algeria timed 1:45.08 to win in Heat 1, while Tshepiso Masalela from Botswana clocked 1:45.33, and both progressed to the final.

Tecuceanu from Italy timed 1:45.38 and finished third and, of course, missed a chance to compete in the final. Ben Pattison of Great Britain and Brandon Miller from the United States also failed to grab a ticket to the ultimate stage.

Wanyonyi now carries the country’s hopes of winning a gold medal in the final after impressive performances in the initial stages.