Emmanuel Wanyonyi has opend up on his relationship with “kind-hearted soul” Marco Arop.
Reigning Olympic 800m champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi has shared insights into his growing rivalry with Canada’s Marco Arop and Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati.
The trio has dominated the 800m track in recent seasons, pushing each other to unprecedented speeds as they inch closer to breaking David Rudisha’s legendary 1:40.91 world record from the 2012 London Olympics.
In 2024 alone, the three have accounted for 11 of the fastest 20 times in 800m history. Wanyonyi’s personal best of 1:41.11, set at the Lausanne Diamond League, places him as the joint second-fastest man ever, while Arop boasts a time of 1:41.20 and Sedjati trails closely with 1:41.46 this season.
Marco Arop praised the exceptional talent and record-challenging times of today’s 800m athletes spearheaded by Emmanuel Wanyonyi, predicting that David Rudisha’s world record will soon be broken.
Wanyonyi revealed in an interview with NTV that Sedjati poses the most tactical challenge of the group, often deploying a calculated kick in the final 200 meters to overtake competitors.
“Sedjati’s pace is deadly because he is good at timing people. He waits for you to gas out before he passes you by,” Wanyonyi said. “He is actually the most dangerous of the lot, so if you are ahead of him, you have to make sure you find a way to maintain your endurance.”
The Paris Olympics final showcased this dynamic, with Sedjati attempting his signature move. However, Wanyonyi held his ground to claim gold, edging out Arop, who took silver.
While Sedjati is a tactical threat, Wanyonyi described Marco Arop as a source of inspiration and a close friend. According to the Kenyan, Arop’s straightforward racing style—dominating the race once he takes the lead—pushes him to perform at his peak.
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World 800m champion Marco Arop has opened up on the mental toughness he needed to have to get onto the podium at the Paris Olympics as he lacked belief of winning a medal.
“Marco is a great friend of mine, and I thrive off his competition because if it weren’t for him, I would not have run that personal best,” Wanyonyi said. “He makes me stretch my limits, and he is an ideal person to race because if he decides to go, he goes.”
Wanyonyi also shared the camaraderie they share outside the track, calling Arop “a kind-hearted soul” and likening their relationship to that of brothers.
“Me and him are always having chats like brothers any time we go for meets. But before races, during the warm-up, everyone is usually tensed up and minding their own business.”
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Wanyonyi has explained the differences between Djamel Sedjati and Marco Arop, describing the former, as more ‘deadly’ in the quest to eventually break David Rudisha’s world record.
Despite their bond, Wanyonyi clarified that the rivalry is strictly professional once they step onto the track.
“Many assume that we have chats while racing. That is not true. But we do motivate each other before races, wishing each other all the best. We go to war for two minutes and then after that, we rekindle our friendship.”
With Sedjati’s tactical brilliance and Arop’s relentless style pushing him to the limit, Wanyonyi remains focused on the ultimate goal: breaking David Rudisha’s world record. The Kenyan sensation is closing the gap with every race, signaling that the mark once thought untouchable may soon fall.
As the three prepare for future clashes, their rivalry continues to captivate the athletics world, with fans eagerly awaiting the day one of them shatters Rudisha’s 1:40.91 record. For Wanyonyi, the journey is as much about friendship and growth as it is about making history.
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800m Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi has given a hilarious account on how his family members, including his own mother, were surprised to see him running on TV at the World U-20 Championsips in 2021 after assuming he had initially “ran away” from home.
