Olympic 800m silver medallist Emmanuel Wanyonyi and world 800m champion Mary Moraa will headline Kenya’s elite squad as the Monaco Diamond League gets underway tonight in France.
Wanyonyi, who currently leads the 800m Diamond League standings with 22 points, will be aiming to cement his dominance at the tenth leg of the series. The 19-year-old prodigy will face a tough field, including reigning world champion Marco Arop of Canada, Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati, Botswana’s Tshepiso Masalela, Mohamed Attaoui of Spain, and France’s Gabriel Tual. A win tonight would edge him closer to securing a spot in the Diamond League Final in Eugene this September.
In the women’s events, Mary Moraa will step down from her specialty in the 800m to race in the rarely-contested 1000m, where she will be joined by compatriot Nelly Chepchirchir. The duo will battle it out against a formidable field that includes former world 800m champion Halimah Nakaayi of Uganda. The race promises to test Moraa’s finishing strength and speed endurance as she builds up toward the Paris Olympics.
Kenya will also have representation in the men’s 3000m steeplechase, with world under-20 champion Edmund Serem lining up alongside Olympic bronze medallist Abraham Kibiwot. They’ll be up against Morocco’s Olympic champion Soufiane El Bakkali and Ethiopia’s Samuel Firehu in what is expected to be a tactical and fast-paced race.
Meanwhile, 2022 World 5000m silver medallist Jacob Krop will seek to earn his first points of the season. The Kenyan distance ace will face stiff competition from Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha, Hagos Gebrhiwet, and Haile Bekele, along with Bahrain’s Birhanu Balew.
All eyes will be on the Kenyan contingent as they test their Olympic readiness under the Monaco lights.
