Emmanuel Wanyonyi/ FILEOlympic 800m champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi is set for a thrilling rematch with reigning world champion Marco Arop at the Lausanne Diamond League on August 20.
The two titans of the two-lap race have been trading blows throughout a fiercely competitive 2025 campaign.
Their first meeting of the 2025 season was the Kingston Grand Slam in Jamaica, where Arop edged Wanyonyi in 1:45.13, with the Kenyan settling for second in 1:46.44.
But Wanyonyi, 21, responded dominantly with a string of statement wins in the Diamond League circuit.
He avenged the loss in Monaco on July 11, storming to a world-leading 1:41.44 ahead of American Josh Hoey (1:42.01) and Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati (1:42.20).
Arop finished in a distant fifth place, clocking 1:42.73.
Eight days later, he returned to outkick Arop once more in London, clocking a new meeting record of 1:42.00 with the Canadian finishing second in 1:42.22.
The Kenyan prodigy has been in blistering form throughout the Diamond League circuit, picking four straight victories and asserting his authority over two laps.
He opened his campaign in Rabat on May 25, where he clocked 1:43.37 to place third behind Botswana's Tshepiso Masalela (1:42.70) and Britain's Max Burgin (1:43.34).
Wanyonyi, however, went on to clinch victories in Oslo (1:42.78), Stockholm (1:41.95), Monaco and London.
He remains the only man to dip under 1:42 this season.
The Lausanne meeting holds fond memories for Wanyonyi, who lit up the track at last year’s edition with a 1:41.11 victory, making him the joint second-fastest man in 800m history alongside Kenyan-born Dane Wilson Kipketer.
In that race, he led Arop (1:41.72) and France’s Gabriel Tual (1:42.30).
This year’s meet will serve as a crucial dress rehearsal ahead of the Diamond League final in Zurich (August 27–28) and the World Championships in Tokyo next month.
In Tokyo, Wanyonyi will lead Kenya’s charge in the men’s 800m alongside Nicholas Kebenei and Kelvin Kimtai, as the East African powerhouse looks to reclaim its global dominance in the event.
"The world stage is very competitive at the moment. According to the times they clocked at the trials (Kebenei and Kimtai), we will have to improve as a team."
"I want all three of us in the finals, and that will be a golden chance," Wanyonyi told the star during the World Championships trials on July 22.
Since the inaugural World Championships in Helsinki in 1983, Kenya has dominated the 800m event, collecting seven gold, three silver, and four bronze medals for a record 14 overall.
Denmark, a distant second, has only three medals to its name over the 800m.
His ambitions will be to unseat Arop.
"Marco Arop will be coming to defend his title. He will come prepared for the medal, and I am also prepared to earn a medal."
