Emmanuel Wanyonyi runs 1:41.19 to win high-quality Olympic 800m
Emmanuel Wanyonyi won a London 2012-esque 800m final at Paris 2024. There was no world record as there had been in London from David Rudisha, but the Kenyan went No.3 on the all-time rankings with 1:41.19 whereas Max Burgin finished last – just as Andrew Osagie had 12 years ago – in a similarly quick time of 1:43.84.
Burgin has been managing lower leg issues for a long time and on limited training he felt he struggled during tight turnaround from the previous morning’s semi-finals, where he had run a PB of 1:43.50. “I’ve also struggled to get good sleep for quite a few days,” he added, due to the excitement of being at the Olympics and uncomfortable bedding in the village.
Burgin added: “I just didn’t have it in me like I hoped I would. But I went out there and tried my best. It wasn’t an embarrassing time, even though I came last, I ran a fast race. Probably my fourth fastest ever time.”
After a high quality season of 800m times, this final did not disappoint and the brutal standard was demonstrated with four men breaking 1:42.00. Tshepiso Masalela of Botswana, for example, ran 1:42.82 and it was only good enough for seventh.
Like David Rudisha in 2012, Wanyonyi also front ran this final in style. Behind, Marco Arop of Canada ran a North American record of 1:41.20 to go No.4 on the world all-time rankings.
Djamel Sedjati, this season's world No.1 from Algeria, clocked 1:41.50 for bronze.
Bryce Hoppel set a United States record of 1:41.67 in fourth, followed by Mohamed Attaoui of Spain running 1:42.08 and then Gabriel Tual of France, buoyed by his home fans, clocking 1:42.14 in sixth. No wonder the crowd drew breath when the times flashed up in the Stade de France.
Drawn on the inside lane, to avoid getting boxed Burgin had to get out hard – and he did – easing into an early lead at the break of lanes. But the Halifax Harrier did not plan to “do a Burgin” and lead at his trademark suicide pace, so he sensibly settled in a little as Wanyonyi came past him down the back straight and continued to lead through the bell in 50.3.
From then on Wanyonyi was never passed but his rivals swapped positions a lot behind him. Runner-up Arop was last at the bell but began to move through gradually over the second lap and was on the shoulder of the leader with 120m to go.
Sedjati had a similar race, easing through the field and following Arop but then finding himself with too much to do in the home straight as he desperately tried to make up the deficit.
Burgin was still in third at the bell but later told AW he didn’t feel great and began to drift back with 250m to go. Tual was also well positioned on the shoulder of Wanyonyi at the bell but even the roar of his home fans couldn’t help him once fatigue began to set in.
Wanyonyi said: “This race was tough for me. I came to Paris, I told myself this race is not easy because it’s the Olympics, so I need to run my PB to win this. That’s why I decided to run in front.”
There is the feeling we have entered a new period of 800m racing this year where times of 1:41-42 have become the norm. It has to be said, though, that runners were clocking these performances 40 years ago and in an interview with AW recently Joaquim Cruz, the 1984 Olympic 800m champion, said “it was about time” that today’s runners were once again hitting these times.
Burgin said afterwards that he felt Rudisha’s world record of 1:40.91 from London 2012 is on borrowed time. He also plans to race again this season and, along with Ben Pattison, Elliot Giles and others, they must be eyeing up Seb Coe’s long-standing UK record of 1:41.73.
Burgin added: "I take this as a positive, and I’ll move on. I’ll hopefully be faster in the races for the rest of the season. As an experience as a whole, the Olympics have been amazing. It’s been a great learning, especially with timings and recovery between sessions. It’s been a great experience, and it’s help me learn what to do next time and what to expect."
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