Olympic 800m champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi will rekindle his fierce rivalry with Olympic silver medallist Marco Arop of Canada at the star-studded Monaco Diamond League meeting this Friday.
The much-anticipated clash marks their first head-to-head since the Kingston Grand Slam on April 6. In that race, Arop edged Wanyonyi to win in 1:45.13 with Wanyonyi settling for second place in 1:46.44. American Bryce Hoppel was third in 1:47.02.
With both athletes firmly eying this season’s ultimate prize, the Tokyo World Championships, the Monaco duel will serve as a critical dress rehearsal and Wanyonyi is keen to land a psychological blow with his first win over Arop this year.
The two middle-distance titans delivered a series of electrifying encounters last season, headlined by their Olympic final thriller in Paris on August 10.
Wanyonyi stormed to Olympic gold in 1:41.19, just a whisker ahead of Arop’s 1:41.20.
Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati clinched bronze in 1:41.50. Twelve days later, the duel resumed in Lausanne, where Wanyonyi again had the upper hand, clocking 1:41.11 to Arop’s 1:41.72. France’s Gabriel Tual was third in 1:42.30.
Their rivalry remained intense in Silesia three days later, where Arop hit back with a commanding 1:41.86 victory as Wanyonyi faded to second in 1:43.23. But the Kenyan had the last laugh at the Brussels Diamond League final, capturing the trophy in 1:42.70 ahead of Sedjati (1:42.86) and Arop (1:43.25).
Fast forward to 2025 and Wanyonyi has already stamped his authority on the Diamond League circuit with commanding back-to-back wins, leading the standings with 22 points.
After a sluggish start in Rabat on May 25, where he finished third in 1:43.37 behind Botswana’s Tshepiso Masalela (1:42.70) and Britain’s Max Burgin (1:43.34), the 2023 World silver medallist bounced back emphatically. He clocked 1:42.78 to win in Oslo on June 12, then followed it up with a 1:41.95 victory in Stockholm on June 15, holding off Sedjati (1:42.27) and American Josh Hoey (1:42.43).
Despite his win in Stockholm, Wanyonyi highlighted a need to sharpen up on his speed. "I have a lot of mileage in my legs and need to start speedwork to improve my finish," Wanyonyi said post-race. "I was very happy to run under 1:42 especially so soon after winning in Oslo," he added.
Arop, meanwhile, will be making his Diamond League season debut in Monaco. His last 800m outing came at the Philadelphia Slam, where he cruised to victory in 1:43.38, ahead of Americans Hoey (1:44.41) and Yared Nuguse (1:45.36). Adding more depth to the star-studded cast in Monaco are Sedjati and Americans Hoey and Hoppel.
Also in the fold are Tual of France, Britain's Burgin, Spain's Mohamed Attaoui, Algeria's Slimane Moula and Poland's Patryk Sieradski.
