Emmanuel Wanyonyi showed remarkable strength to come from behind and stun his rivals to claim a second Diamond League title on Saturday.
Wanyonyi appeared like he would miss out on the title, and even the podium, as world champion Marco Arop stormed to the lead and appeared to be cruising to victory.
However, Algerian Djamel Sedjati closed in and was on his way to overtaking before Wanyonyi appeared from nowhere.
The 20-year-old summoned enough strength to beat his two main rivals just before the finish line to claim the win in 1:42.70 as Sedjati settled for second in 1:42.86 while Arop clocked 1:43.25.
It was a surprise for both Arop and Sedjati who thought they had it in the bag with Wanyonyi later tapping his head to suggest that he had executed his tactics well.
In a highly competitive 800m field, Wanyonyi faced familiar foes in Canada’s Arop, the reigning world champion, Sedjati, the Olympics bronze medallist, and Gabriel Tual, all of whom have bettered 1:42 in recent months, some of them more than once.
Two-time Commonwealth champion Wycliffe Kinyamal and world bronze medallist Ben Pattison added further depth to the field.
Wanyonyi has showcased remarkable form in 2024, cracking the one minute 42 second barrier for the first time in his career during the Athletics Kenyan Olympic trials in June before lowering his personal best to 1:41.58 at the Paris Diamond League in July, just before the Olympic Games.
The 20-year-old achieved a memorable victory at the Paris Games, leading from the front to hold off a stiff challenge from Arop, to cross the finish line in a time of 1:41.19 to win his first Olympic gold medal, becoming the third-fastest man over the distance.
Wanyonyi further improved his personal best at the Lausanne Diamond League, running 1:41.11 to bring himself within 0.20 seconds of the legendary world record held by Kenyan compatriot David Rudisha.
The world silver medallist has now made it four wins, having won in Rabat, Paris and Lausanne, while finishing second in Silesia, the only time Arop had beaten him, before the final in Brussels.
