TOKYO, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- Kenya's Emmanuel Wanyonyi stormed to victory in the men's 800 meters final at the World Athletics Championships here on Saturday, clocking a championship record of one minute 41.86 seconds.
The 21-year-old Olympic champion held his composure in a fiercely contested race and surged ahead in the final stretch to edge Algeria's Djamel Sedjati by 0.04 seconds, underlining his status as one of the brightest young middle-distance runners in the world.
"Today's race was fast and hard, Now I need to defend this title," said Wanyonyi. "I want to be a double world champion. Maybe I will start to think about the world record too. I also want to win gold in Los Angeles in 2028. That's the biggest goal."
Sedjati claimed silver in 1:41.90, a season's best for him, while Marco Arop of Canada, the defending champion from the 2023 Budapest worlds, took bronze in 1:41.95, also a season's best.
The high-quality final saw three athletes achieve season's best times. Britain's Max Burgin set a personal best, while Ireland's Cian McPhillips and Jamaica's Navasky Anderson broke their national records, respective. ■