Diamond League: Wanyonyi follows up Olympic win with thrilling 800m in Lausanne

Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi of Kenya came very close to breaking the world record in the men’s 800 meters on Thursday, missing the world record by just two-tenths of a second to win the Lausanne Diamond League with the second-fastest time in history.

Wanyonyi, who turned 20 at the Paris Olympics, ran a time of 1:41.11 seconds, narrowly missing the world record of 1:40.91 set by Kenyan David Rudisha at the 2012 London Olympics.

The young Kenyan ran at great speed after the green lights on the inner track, which were equal to the world record, in ideal conditions of 25 degrees Celsius. He just missed Rudisha’s record, but equaled Wilson Kipketer’s time from 1997 and was the second fastest time ever.

“I’m so happy that I ran the world top (fastest time this season). I really liked the crowd and I hope for the best in Silesia,” said Wanyonyi, who is aiming for the record again in Poland on Sunday.

Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen took a small revenge on American Cole Hocker by winning the men’s 1,500m in 3:27.83, two weeks after Hocker shocked the Olympic field by winning gold in Paris. The American was second on Thursday.

“It’s been almost two weeks since we were in Paris, so we had plenty of time to recover,” said Ingebrigtsen, who returned to win the 5,000 meters after finishing fourth in the 1,500 meters at the Olympics.

“It was mostly mental, like going home, taking a few quiet days and then going back to work.

“Tonight’s race gave me some good answers and I’m looking forward to building on that.” Hocker had shaved a whopping three seconds off his best time en route to his Olympic victory in one of the biggest upsets at Stade de France. It was a big adjustment for the newly crowned champion.

“Considering the overwhelming last two weeks, it was a solid race,” Hocker said Thursday. “Physically I felt comfortable, but mentally it’s a new challenge to be announced as an Olympic champion.”

American two-time women’s shot put world champion Chase Jackson, who lost her heart in Paris when she failed to qualify for the final, threw the shot 20.64 meters on Thursday, beating German Olympic champion Yemisi Ogunleye by more than a meter.

“I didn’t take a break after the last event — I just started training again,” Jackson said. “My goal is to win another world title and keep pushing myself. I know I can go further, much further.”

Jamaica’s Rasheed Broadbell handed American Grant Holloway a rare defeat in the men’s 110m hurdles. Broadbell, the bronze medallist in Paris, overtook Holloway at the final hurdle, passing him in 13.10, while Holloway, who finally added an Olympic gold medal in Paris to his three world titles, had to settle for second in 13.14.

Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo raced to victory in 19.64 over the 200m after winning in Paris. American Noah Lyles was absent from the field after announcing this week that he would end his season.

Two-time Olympic long jump champion Miltiadis Tentoglou of Greece cleared 8.06 meters on his sixth and final jump, passing Jamaica’s Wayne Pinnock, who came in second with a time of 8.01.

Yaroslava Mahuchikh, the Ukrainian high jump world record holder and Olympic champion, jumped 1.99m to win.