Emmanuel Korir ran the fastest 800m since 2012, clocking 1:42.05, to light up the second day of the Anniversary Games in London.
The 23-year-old Kenyan took the accolade from Nijel Amos, who illuminated Friday night’s Monaco meeting by winning in 1:42.14, but was helpless as Korir produced a powerful front-running, head-turning performance.
He then pulled away through the final 200 metres to lower the world lead and smash the meeting record. It catapults him to sixth on the world all-time list, a feat not even Korir expected so soon.
“I am happy because that is a huge performance from me,” he said. “My personal best I set last year, and I wanted to break that maybe next year, but I managed it earlier than planned. It’s important to beat those guys because they’re all really strong.”
The Kenyan reiterated his excitement on winning the race and stated “It’s unbelievable how fast I ran today,” said the 2016 world indoor 1500m champion. “I have the endurance and speed but don’t normally have the last kick and today I did. It will be incredible to see how fast I can actually run in the future.”
