Reigning Olympic 800m champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi will tonight chase a third successive Diamond League finals trophy in Zurich, aiming to fire an early warning shot to his rivals with the Tokyo World Championships now just days away.
The 21-year-old sensation heads into the finale top of the men’s 800m standings on 45 points. Wanyonyi sits comfortably clear of American Josh Hoey (28) and Spain’s Mohamed Attaoui (25).
The middle distance sensation claimed his maiden Diamond League finals trophy in 2023 at the Prefontaine Classic, winning in 1:42.80.
Canadian World Champion Marco Arop placed second in 1:42.85 with Algeria's Djamel Sedjati completing the podium in 1:43.06. Wanyonyi repeated the same blistering form at the 2024 finale in Brussels, stopping the clock in 1:42.70. Sedjati (1:42.86) and Arop (1:43.25) placed second and third.
So far in 2025, Wanyonyi has been nothing short of electric in the Diamond League circuit. He opened his campaign in Rabat on May 25, where he clocked 1:43.37 to place third behind Botswana's Tshepiso Masalela (1:42.70) and Britain's Max Burgin (1:43.34).
Wanyonyi clinched his first victory in Oslo, clocking 1:42.78 ahead of Spain's Mohamed Attaoui (1:42.90) and Algeria's Djamel Sedjati (1:43.06). He followed it up with another dominant display in Stockholm, clocking 1:41.95 with Sedjati (1:42.27) and Hoey (1:42.43) in second and third place. However, the two-lap prodigy wasn't done there.
On July 11, Wanyonyi clocked a world-leading time of 1:41.44 at the Monaco meeting, well clear of Hoey (1:42.01) and Sedjati (1:42.20). Wanyonyi's time from Monaco places him as the fastest man over 800m this year, a psychological edge over his rivals before Tokyo.
Further, he is the only man to have dipped under 1:42 this season. In London on July 19, he clocked 1:42.00, outkicking World Champion Marco Arop (1:42.22) and Britain's Max Burgin (1:42.36). His most recent race was in Lausanne, where, despite brutal weather conditions, he clocked 1:43.29 to place second behind Hoey (1:42.82).
Despite missing his fifth straight Diamond League circuit victory, Wanyonyi was pleased with his display in Lausanne. "My race was okay. The atmosphere in the stadium was great," Wanyonyi said post-race.
Beyond the circuit, Wanyonyi’s year has been stacked with statement victories. His 2025 campaign kicked off with a 2km loop victory at the National Cross Country Championships in Eldoret, where he cut the tape in 6:14. He followed it up with the Kingston Grand Slam on April 6, featuring in both the 800m and 1,500m.
In the 1,500m, he dismantled an elite cast to claim victory in 3:35.18 with Americans Yared Nuguse (3:35.36) and Cole Hocker (3:35.52) rounding off the podium. In his preferred 800m event, however, Wanyonyi placed second (1:46.44), outkicked by Arop (1:45.13).
On April 26, he claimed a one-mile victory at the Adidas Adizero Road to Records, stopping the clock in 3:52.45 before kicking off his Diamond League campaign. In Zurich, he renews rivalries with Arop, Sedjati, Hoey and Attaoui.
Botswana’s Masalela, Poland’s Patryk Sieradski, American Bryce Hoppel and Burgin add further depth to a loaded field.
