I'm not obsessed with it' — Emmanuel Wanyonyi on possibility of breaking David Rudisha's 800m record

Paris 800m champion reckons that he is not obsessed with breaking the 800m record even though it is one of his goals heading into the 2025 season.

Breaking the world record is about much more than just setting a time according to the 20-year-old who wants to remain grounded in his bid to continue with the imperious form.

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«I want to leave a legacy. ‘I’m not obsessed with it, but I believe it’s possible. I know there is a level I should reach and I’m not yet there,» Wanyonyi told .

The 800m world record of one minute and 40.91 seconds was set by compatriot at the . Wanyonyi was just two tenths of a second off that mark at the Diamond League meeting in Lausanne in August.

The Paris Olympics 800m champion faced a tough upbringing but that was the catalyst as it liberated him from the jaws of poverty to his newly-acquired status

Wanyonyi is the 2021 World U20 champion after cruising to victory on home soil. Aside from his victory in Nairobi, Wanyonyi also won gold in the 2023 World cross country championships mixed relay in Bathurst.

His success has allowed him to improve his family’s circumstances, constructing three-bedroom homes for his mother and three elder brothers, and covering school fees for his four younger siblings. «I wanted to do what my father would have done for them,» he said.

As he prepares for the 2025 season, Wanyonyi’s family remain his underlying motivation. «When I look at my family and where we came from, it only gives me strength. I can’t sleep and I can’t rest. They have been through so much and I want to give them a better life.»

Born and raised in Trans Nzoia County, Wanyonyi is a two-time diamond league champion.