Nairobi — Emmanuel Wanyonyi has revealed that a tactic to run at the front from start was the key ingredient in aiding him to a World Championship title, in Tokyo, Japan.
Wanyonyi added a world title to his Olympic crown with an assured run, dipping on the line to win the two-lap race in a Championship Record time of 1:41.86, four hundredth of a second ahead of Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati with Canada’s MAarco Arop coming a very close third.
In a hugely contested final, Wanyonyi admitted that he had to ‘go big or go home’ in his quest to clinch the crown.
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It was one of the closest finishes ever in a World Championship final in the 800m, and speaking to Telecomasia.net, Wanyonyi said he knew it would be such.
He has disclosed that he had planned to run infront from the start to control the pace. He had run in the middle of the pack in the heats and needed to work extra hard to qualify after being boxed in.
“I expected the race to be very close and I knew I needed to work very hard to win. My target and tactic was to run at the front from the start so that I can control the pace. It was a very competitive field because everyone in the final was in good shape. The last 200m was really tough because at the bend, I suddenly saw everyone was closing in. I just decided to give my all and whichever result was going to come would be okay. I am however delighted that I ended up winning,” Wanyonyi told Telecomasia after the win.
The 21-year-old has described it as a massive honour to hold both Olympic and World titles, capping off what has been a successful season.