World Athletics Championships: Emmanuel Wanyonyi Shows Tremendous Ability in 800-Meter Triumph

Kenya's Emmanuel Wanyonyi entered the 800-meter competition at the 2025 World Athletics Championship with impressive credentials.

In August 2024, he was clocked in 1 minute, 41.19 seconds to win the Olympic gold in Paris. And on July 11, Wanyonyi ran the fastest 5,000 of 2025 (1:41.44) at a Diamond League meet in Monaco.

The 21-year-old rising star also owns the third-fastest time in the 5,000 in history (1:41.19), which he achieved 12 days after the Paris Games success story.

In his first major meet in Japan, Wanyonyi lowered his time from the first round to the semifinals to the finals.

On Saturday night, September 20, Wanyonyi held off Algeria's Djamel Sedjati in a thrilling finish to triumph in the 800 final at Tokyo's National Stadium.

The Kenyan reached the finish line in 1:41.86, a world championships record. Sedjati's time was 1:41.90. Canada's Marco Arop, who slipped from second to third over the final 100 meters, claimed the bronze in 1:41.95.

At the 700-meter mark, only 0.07 seconds separated pacesetter Wanyonyi and Arop.

Sedjati picked up the pace down the stretch to zoom past Arop and obtain the silver.

In the closing event of the night, there was a pulsating vibe in the crowd from start to finish. Fans applauded and shouted throughout the exciting race.

Wanyonyi Reacts to Winning World Athletics Championships Title

"I didn't take this race for granted," Wanyonyi told reporters after his victory before adding, "I really wanted to have a good race, a fast one. But the time was not important for me, the gold medal was."

He continued: "I wanted to do everything to secure the gold. I expected the race to be really competitive and very fast, but I wanted to make sure to just win this gold."

Wanyonyi is already looking ahead to the next world championships, set to be held in Beijing in 2027.

"Now I need to defend this title. I want to be a double world champion," he said. "Maybe I will start to think about the world record, too. It may not happen now, but I also want to win gold in Los Angeles in 2028. That's the biggest goal."

While Wanyonyi's top times have certainly been impressive in 2024 and '25, fellow Kenyan David Rudisha's performance in the 2012 London Olympics remains the gold standard for the two-lap race. Rudisha was clocked in 1:40.91, a world record.

Chebet Bags 2nd Gold of World Athletics Championships

It was also a banner night for Kenyan runners in the women's 5,000-meter final.

In the final stretch of a down-to-the-wire race, world record holder Beatrice Chebet saved her best for last, sprinting past fellow Kenyan Faith Kipyegon to claim the gold.

Chebet reached the finish line in 14:54.36. Kipyegon ran a season-best 14:55.07.

Italy's Nadia Battocletti rounded out the top three (14:55.42).

Seven days after she won the women's 10,000-meter world title in the Japanese capital, Chebet achieved her goal of doubling her medal count here.

"Going home with two gold medals makes me really happy," Chebet said, speaking to reporters. "After winning the 10,000 meters, I wanted to add the 5,000 meters again, like I did in Paris [at the 2024 Olympics].

"I've had an amazing season. I always encourage myself and believe we don't need to limit ourselves. When you do a good training session, you can face any challenge. Running with the likes of Faith and Nadia, you just have to believe in yourself."

*Kenya's gold medalist Beatrice Chebet and and silver medalist Faith Kipyegon celebrate after the women's 5,000-meter final. (Kyung Hoon Kim/REUTERS)*

Excitement for Kenyan Silver Medalist

Kipyegon was happy to secure a medal alongside Chebet.

"I am so grateful to come home with a silver medal in the 5,000 meters," Kipyegon said. "My prayer was to be on the podium. I haven't raced so many 5,000-meter races this year so I'm grateful.

"My friend Beatrice Chebet is the best. She has the world record, she is very tough to beat. I knew it was going to be a battle until the finish line and it was a great one."

Shelby Houlihan of the United States led for the majority of the race. The 32-year-old placed a distant fourth (14:57.42).

Tanaka Seeks Improvement in the 5,000

Japan's Nozomi Tanaka finished 12th in 15:07.34.

It was far from Tanaka's best recent effort in the 5,000. Her season-best time in the event was 14:34.10.

Tanaka, who made her World Athletics Championships debut in 2019, said Saturday's final provided a genuine evaluation of her skills in the 5,000.

"I stood at the starting line feeling incredibly aware of my potential, thinking 'What if I win a medal?' " Tanaka said, according to NHK.

She added, "I felt that all the way through the final lap. But when that hope was dashed, it really hit me how far my skills still fall short."

Tanaka vowed to keep striving for improvement.

"I want to become much, much stronger in the truest sense," she said.

Angulo Sets National Record En Route to Javelin Gold

Ecuador's Juleisy Angulo had a top throw of 65.12 meters in the women's javelin throw final.

The 24-year-old Angulo established a national record to secure the gold medal. She set the record on her second of six attempts in the final.

Latvia's Anete Sietina took the silver with a personal-best mark of 64.64 on her final throw. Australia's Mackenzie Little collected the bronze (63.58).

As the new world champion, Angulo expressed pride in one of her teammates and, in a broader sense, Latin American female athletes at the world championships.

"My goal here was to reach the final so I am very emotional, in shock," Angulo said in a post-event media session. "I still can't believe it, [but] I compete to improve myself. [And] I have an internal battle to improve myself."

The two-time national champion added, "I am very proud of my performance and that of Paula [Milena Torres, the 35-km race walk bronze medalist], and all the Latin American women here. I trust myself, and my coach puts a lot of trust in me and the work we have done together."

Schilder Claims Shot Put Crown

The Netherlands' Jessica Schilder recorded a narrow victory in the women's shot put final. She had the night's top throw (20.29 meters) to edge Chase Jackson of the United States (20.21) for the title.

New Zealand's Maddison-Lee Wesche picked up the bronze (20.06).

Schilder also won the event at the 2025 Diamond League Final, bagging the title with a similar mark (20.26) in Zurich on August 27.

The past week or so proved to be an unpredictable mix of circumstances for Schilder.

"I still cannot believe it has happened," she said of winning the gold medal. "Not because I was not prepared, but I became ill last week. I had a fever for three days. That is why my confidence was lower and I didn't think it was possible anymore to get a medal here. But my coach said that nothing is impossible and I believed him 100%."

Schilder displayed determination throughout the final, and it helped carry her to victory.

"Even after not such a good start to the final I said that I'm going to try until the end," she told reporters. "And it worked. Being in fifth position before the last round I thought, 'No, I don't want to meddle with this. I have to end the season on a high note.' I wanted a world championships medal so badly and I had to do it. You don't have a chance like this very often."

Japan Men Qualify for 4x100 Relay Final

Sixteen nations participated in the men's 4x100-meter relay first round, with eight advancing to Sunday's final.

Ghana set a national record on this night, winning the second heat in 37.79 seconds, a national record. The Netherlands was second (37.95), and Japan punched its ticket to the final with a third-place finish (38.07), fifth among the eight qualifying relay squads. Australia, another participant in the second heat, also moved on to the final (38.21).

Canada won the first heat in 37.85 seconds, followed by the United States (37.98), Germany (38.12) and France (38.34).

*Jamaica's Ryiem Forde (rear) and Kishane Thompson have a botched baton exchange in a men's 4x100-meter relay qualifying heat. (Aleksandra Szmigiel/REUTERS)*

Jamaica, the bronze medalist in this event at the 2023 World Athletics Championships, didn't complete the race.

Ryiem Forde, the team's third runner, and anchor Kishane Thompson failed to make the baton exchange, and Jamaica's final leg of the race wasn't completed. Instead of a smooth transition between teammates at this pivotal stage of the race, the baton fell to the track's surface during the attempted handoff.

For Japan, Yuki Koike, Hiroki Yanagita, Yoshihide Kiryu and Towa Uzawa ran in succession in Saturday's heat.

*From left, Japan's men's 4x100 relay members Yuki Koike, Hiroki Yanagita, Yoshihide Kiryu and Towa Uzawa pose for photos after their qualifying heat at National Stadium. (Sarah Meyssonnier/REUTERS)*

Comments from Japan's Relay Runners

The teammates expressed a blend of excitement, joy and relief about reaching the final.

"This was my first race at these championships and running in front of a full stadium made me really happy, proud and excited," Koike said. He called it "an amazing experience."

Yanagita said, "Qualifying for the final seems like a dream come true. I was nervous before the race but now I am relaxed."

After serving as Japan's anchor for the first-round race, Uzawa shared his thoughts on his and the foursome's performance.

"I didn't make the 200-meter semifinal so I had to switch my focus to make the team work smoothly," commented Uzawa.

He then said, "I ran a great race, all my teammates did as well, [and] I hope we can run faster in the final."

Japan finished fifth in the 4x100 final at the Paris Olympics.

On Sunday, the men's 4x100 final is set to start at 9:20 PM.

Author: Ed Odeven

Find Ed on JAPAN Forward's dedicated website, SportsLook. Follow his [Japan Sports Notebook] on Sundays, [Odds and Evens] during the week, and X (formerly Twitter) ＠ed_odeven.