Emmanuel Wanyonyi remains confident in his progress

Despite his third-place finish in Rabat, Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi remains confident in his progress as he focuses on the World Championships. The Olympic 800m champion was not disappointed with his third-place finish in Morocco.

Emmanuel Wanyonyi entered the race as the favourite to win but fell short of expectations, finishing third in 1:43.37 min.

Tshepiso Masalela of Botswana won the race with a world-leading time of 1:42.70 min, with Britain’s Max Burgin finishing second in 1:43.34 min.

The race was Emmanuel Wanyonyi’s first 800m of the season after competing in the Athletics Grand Slam in Kingston, where he clocked 1:46.44 min.

The Kenyan revealed that he is gradually improving and is looking forward to seeing what he can do at the World Championships in Tokyo in September.

He added that his main goal is to iron out a number of shortcomings that his coach noticed during the race as he aims for better results next time.

“This was my first Diamond League 800m race of the season and I ran 1:43, which means my body is good and the season is still early and it is very long. I think my preparation is going well. The race was good and I am happy to run this time because it was my first time running 800m in the Diamond League. I improved from 1:46 to 1:43 and I will train hard before the World Championships”, said Emmanuel Wanyonyi.