Wanyonyi to chase glory in Oslo after second place in Rabat

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Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi is returning to Diamond League action this evening in Oslo, Norway, after a second place at the Rabat meet in Morocco late last month.

The reigning world champion had played second-fiddle to British Max Burgin in Rabat, and he is set to compete in one of the deepest fields this season.

Wanyonyi, who has occasionally been producing commanding victories in the 1500m, will be taking on 800m giants, among them the world’s number four and five of all time, Marco Arop and Djamel Sedjati, respectively. He (Wanyonyi) is the third of all time.

The trio also made the podium at the 2024 Paris Olympics and last year's World Championships in Tokyo, and are sharing 22 Diamond League victories among themselves.

Wanyonyi, a former world Under-20 800m champion, said he had done his best at the Rabat meet on May 31.

He had powered to a commanding victory in the 1500m at the Kipkeino Classic Continental Tour in Nairobi a month before racing in Rabat.

“The race (in Rabat) was so good, my fastest of the season. At the same time, it was very tough. I have done my best, and 1:43.56 is not a bad time for me. I expected a race like this where someone would push me to my maximum. My focus this season will be on the 800m, not the 1500m,” said Wanyonyi.

Also set to line up in the men’s 800m race in Oslo tonight is Ireland's Mark English, a two-time Diamond League winner, Olympian Peter Bol of Australia, who has won a Diamond League race once, and France's Gabriel Tual, the winner in the Rome meet last month.

Spanish Mohamed Attaoui and Belgian Eliot Crestan are in the super-fast field.

But there is a surprise in the two-lap contest. American, 17-year-old Cooper Lutkenhaus, who is fresh from a breakthrough in Stockholm on Sunday, is looking to turn the tables.

The youngster defeated a world-class field to win the men’s 800m race in a mouthwatering 1:42.70 ahead of former world champion Marco Arop of Canada.

He is lining up at the Bislett Stadium track for the first time this evening with a CV so impressive for his age.

Lutkenhaus is the reigning indoor world champion and the youngest ever world champion in athletics, both indoors and outdoors. 

Last season, the super talent set a high school record and a world record for Under-18s with 1:42.27 and became the youngest American athlete ever in a World Championship.

In the men’s 5000m, world silver medallist Jacob Krop is hoping to anchor a strong Kenyan cast to podium positions.

Krop will have the company of African bronze medallist Cornelius Kemboi and former World Under-20 Cross Country Champion in the chase for glory in Oslo.

Gold medallists from past World Championships, including from the 2025 Tokyo Championships last year, Wanyonyi in 800m, Isaac Nader (Portugal) in 1500m, his countryman Pedro Pichardo in triple jump, Jessica Schilder (Netherlands) in shot put, and Juleisy Angulo (Ecuador) in javelin, have been assembled for stunning performances this evening.

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