Wanyonyi eyes glory in London after world record run in Monaco

Kenya's Emmanuel Wanyonyi celebrates after setting a new World Record in the men's 1000m during the Diamond League athletics meeting at the Stade Louis II in Monaco on July 10, 2026. [AFP]

When the world was waiting to follow the Spain v Belgium World Cup action on Friday night, Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi was entering history books at the Monaco Diamond League meet.

The indomitable 800m athlete destroyed the 1,000m world record, setting it at 2:11.83 after eclipsing the 2:11.96 set by Kenyan legend Noah Ngeny 27 years ago.

Wanyonyi’s next assignment is the London meet next Saturday but he has entered the elite club of record-breakers.

Kenyan stars regained their footing in the Monaco meet after a sluggish start in the 2026 circuit.

Wanyonyi ran a glorious 1,000m race. After the second pacemaker Louey Ouerrat dropped out just before 800m in 1:45.11, the world 800m champion still had Jake Wightman to contend with, but he unleashed a powerful kick that propelled him to a world record.

He was smarting from defeat by American teenager Cooper Lutkenhaus in an 800m race that ended in a photo finish at the Oslo leg last month.

In Friday’s contest, all the top eight finishers set lifetime bests. Wightman was second in 2:12.77 while Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati came in third in 2:13.94.

“I am so excited and so happy that I could run today in Monaco. This was the first time I ran the 1,000m, and directly breaking the world record makes me so happy,” said Wanyonyi.

The record-breaker added: “I don´t want to talk about the world record in the 800m. I first want to run fast and improve my personal best.

“My next competition is in London. I have decided to not run too much this season because I want to run very fast at the end of the season.”

To show that, Monaco was a Kenyan affair, 10km record holder Agnes Ngetich threatened the 8:06.11 3,000m world record.

The record set by China’s Wang Junxia survived the onslaught but Ngetich but the Kenyan star still went ahead to destroy Romanian legend Gabriela Szabo’s long-standing meeting record of 8:21.42 from 2002.

Ethiopians Alesighn Baweke and Senayet Getachew sprinted to second (8:23.81) and third (8:24.02) places respectively with three-time Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon, who is still recovering from a hamstring injury in finishing fourth in 8:24.21.

Ngetich said she was aiming to run a personal best in Monaco, and that the meeting record came as a surprise.

“I was coming here just to test if I still have the speed on the track. My last track race was in Tokyo and I see that it is so amazing. I just could not believe who I was on the track. Running side by side with Faith Kipyegon and with Jessica (Hull) - it was a pleasure. It is a privilege. She is a nice lady, she is a queen on the track. She has been a role model to us. For now, I just go back to my coach and see what is next,” Ngetich said after victory.

Kipyegon, who was third in the women’s Mile at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene last weekend said she was happy to finish the race.

“I am just happy I could run again. Still, I am not feeling very healthy and am still battling a very bad injury, but I am glad I still managed to run. Losing is not good, but again, it is important to accept it when you are not 10 percent healthy. You need 100 percent to compete with the best people in the world.

“So I am just so happy to finish this race. Now I have to go back home, get good treatment and see how it goes. I still have some competitions left,” said Kipyegon.

African bronze medallist Simon Koech, who is eyeing glory in the upcoming Commonwealth Games made a huge statement in the men’s 3,000m steeplechase, destroying the strong field to win the contest in 8:03.35.

He was followed by Japanese Ryuji Miura, who ran a season best of 8:10.30 in the second position. World bronze medallist Edmund Serem closed the podium in 8:11.15.

“This result is good for me because I know where my body is at the moment. I know what I need to improve and to continue the work. It was not hard today, but the last two laps, it was somehow tough.

“The body started to feel the fatigue. Now, the main goal is the Commonwealth Games,” Koech said.