Wanyonyi stuns bigwigs at Grand Slam Track in Jamaica

Kenya's Emmanuel Wanyonyi (centre) reacts after winning the men's 1,500m short distance event ahead of USA's Yared Nuguse (right) in second and Britain's Josh Kerr in third during the Grand Slam Track competition at the National Stadium in Kingston, Jamaica, on April 5, 2025. [AFP] In a spectacular fashion, Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi stunned bigwig for his major win in 1500m at the first meet of the Grand Slam Track in Kingston, Jamaica. Wanyonyi shocked among others Olympic bronze medallist in the event Yared Nuguse of the United States of America and his major rival, Canadian Marco Arop, who is the reigning 800m world champion. The 800m world silver medallist tore the rule book on Saturday night as he opened a new chapter in the 1500m. He unleashed a blistering kick at the homestretch and left specialists in the event, including Nuguse and Olympic 1500m silver medallist Josh Kerr of Great Britain struggling to overpower him. Tactically, Wanyonyi stuck in the middle as he carefully read the moves before making his own move, at the closing stages and headed for a spectacular triumph in 3:35.18, ahead of last night's final races where the Kapsabet-based star faces the same field in his specialty - the 800m event. The 20-year-old star won the 1500m race the Athletics Kenya track and field staged in Kapsabet in March and there have been speculations that he might be invited to double for Kenya at the Tokyo World Championships in September. Nuguse settled for a second place in 3:35.36 and Olympic champion Cole Hocker, who crossed the finishing mark in 3:35.52. Kerr, the reigning world 1500m champion finished fifth in 3:35.61 in the hotly contested race. With the win, Wanyonyi bagged the maximum 12 points in the race, and victory in the final contest in 800m on Sunday night will see him walk away with Sh12.9 million top prize in the short distance categories (800m and 1500m). On Monday morning, whoever bags the top prize will have been known. Already, global stars in the women's short distance have bagged their handsome prizes. Susan Ejore of Kenya, who had finished fifth in 800m with four points made a strong comeback to place second in 1500m and in the process earned eight points, collected a total of 12 points, placing her third in the third overall in the short distances. Nikki Hiltz of USA who delivered victory and 12 points in the women's 800m on Friday finished third in 1500m and made a total of 18 points, ranking second overall. Ethiopia's Diribe Weltiji, a world silver medalist who finished second in the 800m during the first day on Friday, produced a stellar win in 1500m, her signature race and accumulated 20 points, which made her the overall winner and a proud earner of the top prize money. A missing figure in the women's 1500m catfight was world 800m champion Mary Moraa whose signature dance at the Kingston Slam was much anticipated. Moraa, an Olympic bronze medallist withdrew from her final race at the Kingston leg citing illness. As she bowed out, the 800m star promised to bounce at the Miami Slam in May. "I came to Kingston hoping to stage standout performances in the short distance races (800m and 1,500m) at the Grand Slam Track. Unfortunately, that will not happen since I am forced to withdraw from the second race (1,500m) and the entire event because of a recurring medical condition," she said. She went on to say: "I would like to thank the organisers of the event especially legendary Michael Johnson for the wonderful initiative and invite. I hope to recover and bounce back on time for the next event in Miami, USA." According to organisers, the overall season winner will be the athlete in each race group with the highest accumulated points once the four meets have been completed, with a single male and single female champion crowned 'Racer of the Year' in each 'Race Group.'

Wanyonyi stuns bigwigs at Grand Slam Track in Jamaica

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