Former World Under-20 800m champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi has set his focus to defend his title at the May 13 Kip Keino Classic, the World Continental Tour at the Moi Sports Centre, Kasarani.
Wanyonyi, who will be starting his season, said he will be using the event as a build-up for his Diamond League Series journey. The series starts this weekend in Doha, Qatar though Wanyonyi is targeting Rabat Meeting on May 28 in Rabat, Morocco.
“I have been training well and this is part of my journey to defend the title I won last year. This is my first track event this season and being the opener, I want to do well,” said Wanyonyi.
He will be running his first competitive race since anchoring Team Kenya to win gold in mixed relays at the World Athletics Cross Country Championships in Bathurst, Australia in February.
“The Kip Keino Classic will be my first race since competing at the World Cross. Being the first race, I want to make an impact as I prepare to embark on the Diamond League journey," he noted.
“Since I have not competed for long, I want to gauge myself for the subsequent races. I hope my body will respond well. I have not had any challenges in training and so I hope all will go well,” explained Wanyonyi.
In Bathurst, Wanyonyi competed alongside Miriam Cherop, Daniel Munguti and Brenda Chebet to win the mixed relay gold.
The quartet clocked 24:14 to retain the title the country last won in 2019 in Aarhus, Denmark, beating rivals Ethiopia to second in 23:21 with hosts Australia coming third in 23:26. At the Kip Keino Classic last year, Wanyonyi won the 800m title after clocking 1:45.01.
