World and Olympics 800 metres champion, Emmanuel Wanyonyi of Kenya, has stated his desire to transition from the two-lap race to the 1,500m with the 2028 Olympic Games in mind.

But the 21-year-old now reckons there is no better place for him to start his adventure in the metric-mile race than at Absa Kip Keino Classic, the Kenyan round of the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold Series, which will be held on Friday at Nyayo National Stadium. Wanyonyi, who has a personal best time of 1 minute and 41.11seconds over 800m, will take part in a competitive race, over 1500m, before his home fans for the first time .

Kenya's Emmanuel Wanyonyi competes in the men's 800m semi-final during the World Athletics Championships at the National Athletics Centre in Budapest on August 24, 2023.

Photo credit: AFP

“I’m excited that I will compete in Kip Keino Classic for the fourth time, but this time round, I will be competing in the 1,500m, which is part of my long-term goal of graduating to the longer distance. I won’t be running the 800m race for my career. I believe in growth, and that is why I have to shift gears and move to the next,” Wanyonyi told Nation Sport on Monday. It will not be his first race over 1,500m, though. Wanyonyi first ran the 1,500m race on March 5, 2022, during the third Athletics Kenya Weekend Meeting at Nyayo National Stadium, clocking 3 minutes and 43.19sec.

Read: Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi ponders switch to 1,500m

At the 2025 Grand Slam in Kingston, Jamaica, he won the men’s 1,500m on April 5, 2025, in a personal best time in the distance of 3:35.18.

Kenya's Emmanuel Wanyonyi (center) crosses the line to win gold in the final ahead of Algeria's Djamel Sedjati (left) and Canada's Marco Arop at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on September 20, 2025

Wanyonyi said his training regime has remained pretty much the same even as he plans to transition to 1,500m. He has stuck to his usual training programme, but he is open to make changes to the programme if and when necessary.

Read: Wanyonyi wins global award, sets sights on conquering Ultimate Championships

“I will be learning more as I head to my first competitive 1,500m race before my home fans. With time, I will know whether to compete in the two races or to drop one. Competing in Kip Keino Classic will help me refine my training because the season has just started, and I’m currently working on endurance and speed,” Wanyonyi added.

Because some of the races in Kip Keino Classic will be held under floodlights, he expects cold conditions.

Wanyonyi is fresh from being crowned the top athlete of 2025 in the men’s category at the Sports Personality of the Year Award after a good season in which he won gold medal in a course record time of 1:41.86 at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo ahead of Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati (1:41.90) and Canada’s Marco Arop (1:41.95).

He will come up against some of the best runners over the distance, among them 2019 World champion Timothy Cheruiyot, 2022 African champion Abel Kipsang, 2024 African champion Brian Komen, Vincent Keter, the 2024 World Cross Country Mixed relays champion Daniel Munguti, the 2025 World bronze medallist Reynold Cheruiyot, Mathew Kipsang, among others. The international athletes in the race are Johannes Morepe (South Africa), Mounir Akbache (France), as well as Ethiopian runners Dejene Teshome, Mebrat Kassa, Sendel Musa and Destaw Tade.

Kip Keino Classic remains the only World Athletics Continental Tour Gold level meeting in Africa.

Kenya's Emmanuel Wanyonyi celebrates after setting a new meeting record to win the men's 800m race at Monaco Diamond League on July 11, 2025.

Photo credit: Reuters

On Sunday, American sprints star Gabby Thomas, who is fresh from victory at the Addis Ababa Grand Prix in Ethiopia, touched down in Nairobi, ready for the Kip Keino Classic. Thomas, one of the biggest names in global sprinting, arrives in top form after dominating the women’s 100 metres and 200m races in Addis Ababa. She hopes to carry the momentum to the Kenyan round of the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold event.

The 2024 Olympic Games 200m gold medallist is expected to headline the 200m contest , treating Kenyan fans to awe-inspiring performances.

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