Lausanne Diamond League: Wanyonyi seeks maiden 800m Diamond League win

Emmanuel Wanyonyi will pursue his first 800m Diamond League victory of the season in Lausanne, after running 1:41.11 at the same meeting in 2024. The Kenyan is the reigning Olympic and world champion and returns to Switzerland in strong form.

Wanyonyi set a world 1000m record of 2:11.83 in Monaco last month. His Lausanne challenge will include Canada’s Marco Arop, the current world leader, and American Brandon Miller. Arop won the Paris Diamond League in 1:41.84, while Miller took victory at the London meeting.

Lilian Odira will line up in the women’s 800m against Swiss runner Audrey Werro and Dutch athlete Femke Bol. Odira, the world champion, won the Diamond League meeting in Eugene. Werro has also enjoyed a major season, posting 1:53.80 in Paris to move to third on the all-time list before winning the European title in Birmingham.

Faith Cherotich will represent Kenya in the 3000m steeplechase, where she is due to meet Olympic champion Winfred Yavi. Both athletes have recorded times of 8:51 this season, setting up another meeting between the reigning world and Olympic champions.

The Athletissima meeting will take place on Friday at Lausanne’s Pontaise Olympic Stadium, with a city event planned beside Lake Geneva on Thursday. Botswana’s Olympic 200m champion Letsile Tebogo will also compete, facing Puerto Rico’s Jose Figueroa and South Africa’s Sinesipho Dambile. All three have gone below 19.85 seconds this year.