Kenya's 17-yr old sensation Emmanuel Wanyoni wins his European debut in 1:44.15. Might he be a player at Worlds?

Moula seemed to slow up just as he was getting to the line, but let's face it, his run was by far the most impressive and promising here. He ran on the outside of lane two for the second and third curves; he then went to the inside on the fourth turn only to go way out to lane 3 to get past most of the field and closed exceptionally quickly the last 100m. He ran an extra 6-7m, I would guess, so that was the equivalent of low 1:43, which I'm confident he will beat shortly. He has to work on his tactics, though, because he can't be giving up that much extra distance. Wanyonyi is a physical specimen, with loads of promise, but he is certainly in his early twenties at the youngest. That doesn't matter here, as he's racing in the open category, but it does bear on how much better he can become by maturing. He's already physically mature. He will be a force this year, no doubt.

And irrelevant.

If he competes in open competition it won't matter how old he is.

If he is as old as you think, he won't be around as long.

Burgin ran dumb...49 first lap wtf?

I'm surprised he managed 1:44 off that.

Guys, calm down, he's actually 35.

+1

I'm liking Moula a lot more.

It's not irrelevent if he is older than 17, because it would mean that he cheated a genuine junior out of a medal, final place, semi final place at the World Junior Championships. And he gained valuable experience there. Also, the reason why Rojo created this thread was because he is '17', and if that's true, his performance was astounding. If he's 22 or whatever, then the really impressive performances were from Max Burgin and the Algerian.

Not to mention that if he is lying about his age and is really 22 or 25, and has just burst onto the scene running these times, then he's almost certainly juiced to the gills.

Coevett always has an excuse.

I was very impressed he held it together after that. Burgin has been out injured, I think this run today shows he is capable of 1:43 or faster soon.

He was leading 1:16 through 600m and the wheels only fell off in the last 80m. Few more races and that will come together.

This is why Clayton Murphy will find the 800 very tough at the World Championships. Too many Kenyans in front of him.

Looked like 50 low to me.

Look at the pictures from last year, he looks pretty young certainly not mid-20s. I have no idea if he's 17 years 10 months, but you've just taken 5 leaps off a guy who looks like a little old (perhaps 18-21 now). Because his age may be off he's definitely doping? He is deliberately lying with his age? He's just burst in when in reality in 2021 he ran domestically starting in March.

It is extremely unlikely he's 25. Most 800m runners are holding onto their prime at age 24-25 - I think you know this.

Here is the beginning of an article about him from last year, which indicates he was picked out before high school, which I don't think where many 19-20 year old Kenyans are going to be found:

"Emmanuel Wanyonyi, a former herdsman, who dropped out of school in class three but resumed with his studies seven years later, has vowed to deliver a medal, at the ongoing World Athletics under 20 Championship in Kasarani.
Wanyonyi, who is in Form One, was plucked from the grassing field by a Good Samaritan, who offered to pay for his education only to be enrolled in athletics programme by his teachers.
And four years later, Wanyonyi is among medal prospects at the junior event and wants to return the favour by winning at least a medal for the country, in his first appearance on the global stage."

-This guy is not in his mid-20s sorry

Image:sportsleo.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/...

So it's not relevant if we're talking about Cade Flatt or Will Sumner being a year older than the rest of the HS class of 22' but it is important when a Kenyan "17 y.o." is crushing some of the best in the world in an open race??

Got it, thanks

In the World Athletics page

worldathletics.org

Emmanuel WANYONYI | Profile | World Athletics

Link:worldathletics.org/athletes/kenya/emma...

They should add more informations like:

Height
Weight

This is more more important. In U20 World Championship (Nairobi) he didn't look tall compared to the Algerian Al Gouaned. So I'm predicting he isn't going far in the next years despite the early performances.

Yes, according to them he may be, but from the photo he looks 30! That's the point.

Historically, we cannot take Kenyan's ages seriously, because so many have turned out to be fake, which is a shame for whoever the legit Junior WR holder for the distance is.

I honestly cannot take you seriously because of some of the fake split times that you’ve posted here over the years. Credibility cuts both ways.

Really!? Give examples then!

1:46.9 Bile 87 in Rome

I saw the headline as a European debut.

I didn't realize it was an age race?

Was it? I guess it wasn't.

In this case it was totally irrelevant because its an open race..

PLACE NAME BIRTH DATE NAT. MARK
1. Emmanuel WANYONYI 01 AUG 2004 KEN 1:44.15
2. Slimane MOULA 25 FEB 1999 ALG 1:44.19
3. Max BURGIN 20 MAY 2002 GBR 1:44.54
4. Noah KIBET 12 APR 2004 KEN 1:44.89
5. Nijel AMOS 15 MAR 1994 BOT 1:44.92

Its the organizations job to age qualify people in the championships, not mine or yours.

Moula finished second again in Montreuil. It's clear he'll be a threat if a race is in the 1:44 - 1:45 range, but I don't think he'll be able to kick for 1:43.