The return of the track kings — can Wanyonyi lead a men’s revival?

As Kenyans celebrate their victory at the just-concluded World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, the country must also pause to reflect on a growing concern, the dwindling fortunes of the ‘boy-child’ in athletics. Kenya returned home with 11 medals; seven gold, two silver and two bronze, finishing second behind the USA’s dominant haul of 26 medals.
But beneath the celebrations lies a sobering reality. Of Kenya’s medalists in Tokyo, women carried the bulk of the glory, securing six golds and two silvers, while their male counterparts could only muster one gold and two bronzes.
But all is not lost.
When Emmanuel Wanyonyi crossed the finish line first in the men’s 800m at the 2025 Tokyo World Athletics Championships, pumping his fists and roaring with joy, it was more than just another gold medal for Kenya — it was a sigh of relief.
For the first time since Emmanuel Korir in 2022 at the Eugene World Championships, Kenya had a male 800m champion standing atop the podium. In a championship dominated by Kenyan women, Wanyonyi’s performance was a powerful reminder: the kings of Kenyan track might just be coming back.
A Glimmer in the Storm
The Tokyo 2025 Championships were tough for Kenya’s male athletes. Out of the seven gold medals Kenya took home, only one came from a man — Wanyonyi’s. The women swept everything else from 800m through marathon, leaving the men in a shadow of their own history.
For a nation that once ruled the 800m, 1500m, and the steeplechase, it felt like watching a giant trying to find its footing again. Wanyonyi’s victory, however, was a crucial reminder that the foundation isn’t gone — it just needs rebuilding.
The 21-year-old has been the only standout male athlete over the last three years winning a silver at the Budapest23 World Champs, an Olympic gold at Paris24 and the latest gold in Tokyo. Wanyonyi has shown maturity far beyond his age. His Tokyo win was not only about strength but race intelligence — the ability to pace, position, and close out perfectly. Traits that David Rudisha mastered a decade ago.
Since his senior debut at the worlds in Eugene 2022, Wanyonyi has made huge strides. It’s not just about amassing titles. Wanyonyi has also proven he can run very fast.
He achieved the second-fastest time in the 800m, 1:41.11, which is just 0.20 seconds shy of Rudisha’s world record.
“Running the fast time so soon after the Olympics was a surprise for me,” he recalled of his Lausanne race, where he closed in on Rudisha’s iconic 1:40.91 mark from London Olympics 2012.

From Rudisha to Wanyonyi: The Changing of the Guard
When Rudisha, Wanyonyi’s mentor broke the world record — running a near-perfect solo race — he redefined the event. For years, Kenya was unbeatable in the two-lap race. But since Rudisha’s injuries and retirement, the men’s 800m crown had slipped through Kenyan fingers until Korir won the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics held in 2021.
Wanyonyi’s gold in Tokyo wasn’t just a medal; it was closure for a country that was losing hope of dominating the two-lap race with competition coming from Canada’s Marco Arop and Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati.
“After Rudisha, it was like we were searching for identity,” said Barnaba Korir, Athletics Kenya’s performance director. “Now with Wanyonyi, Simon Koech, and Reynold Cheruiyot coming up, we’re seeing a generation that blends natural talent with modern preparation.”
Indeed, Wanyonyi trains under a new model that emphasizes recovery, pacing science, and tactical rehearsal — areas that Kenya’s older systems often overlooked. His camp in Kapsabet, guided by emerging coaches, uses GPS-based tracking and nutrition monitoring.
Wanyonyi now joins Rudisha and Korir as the only athletes to hold both the World and Olympic 800m title concurrently.
“Wanyonyi is now the second-fastest and it’s just a matter of time if he keeps on pushing and doing the right thing, good training,” said Rudisha on his mentee’s threatening his record that has stood for more the 13 years.

The Young Guns
Wanyonyi is not alone. A small but growing group of young male athletes is emerging, eager to reclaim Kenya’s dominance on the track.
Reynold Cheruiyot, the 2023 World u-20 champion and 2025 World Championships bronze medalist, is being touted as the future of the 1500m — a space once ruled by Timothy Cheruiyot and Asbel Kiprop.
KENYA’s Reynold Cheruiyot (C)scoops bronze in men’s 1500m at Tokyo World Champs; Portugal’s Nader wins gold, Briton Wightman takes silver. Photo Courtesy/SUPERSPORT
The 21 year-old claimed his bronze medal in a time of 3:34.25. The race was won by former Moroccan now trading for Portugal, Isaac Nader in a nail-biting finish in a time of 3:34.10.
Another emerging talent is Edmund Serem a steeplechase bronze medalist in Tokyo. Serem, 17, finished third with a time of 8:34.56. He followed New Zealand’s Geordie Beamish, who staged a dramatic sprint finish to snatch gold in 8:33.88, ending Soufiane El Bakkali’s reign of dominance as the Moroccan took silver in a closely contested race.
The 2024 World u-20 champion credited his success to the inspiration he received from his mentor and legendary marathon runner Eliud Kipchoge.
“I was anxious because of the massive crowd in the stadium, as well as running alongside the world beaters, but I maintained my composure. I drew my encouragement from my mentor,” said Serem the younger brother to Amos Serem– the 2021 world U20 champion.
World u-20 steeplechase champion Edmund Serem. Photo Courtesy/ World Athletics
Simon Koech, meanwhile, is also in the discussions to lead Kenya back to its glory days. He says the emerging crop of talent in the discipline fills him with hope that Kenya will roar once again.
“If you look at the new talents that are emerging such as Serem, you can tell that we will reclaim our dominance in the men’s 3000m steeplechase. They have spiced up the competition in the local scene with those of us who have been in the game for sometime. That can only increase the quality of athletes that go on to represent the country at international competitions,” the 2021 World  u-20 bronze medalist.
Kenya has struggled in the water-jump-and-hurdles race in the past five years, having relinquished the Olympic title to Moroccan Soufiane El Bakkali. Bakkali has gone on to become a thorn in the flesh of Kenya, maintaining a tight grip on a race that has been a preserve of the East Africans since Amos Biwott won gold at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City.
“These young men are learning from the women,” noted coach Bernard Ouma, speaking during a post-championship analysis show on NTV. “They’ve seen how Faith [Kipyegon] and Mary Moraa train — the discipline, the structure, the professionalism. They’re beginning to apply that.”

Learning from the Queens
There’s no denying it: Kenyan women are currently setting the standard. Wanyonyi and his peers have openly admitted that watching Faith Kipyegon, Beatrice Chebet, and Peres Jepchirchir dominate the global stage has been a source of motivation.
“If you look at how Faith prepares, you realize success is not just talent,” Wanyonyi said in an interview with BBC Sport Africa after Tokyo. “She trains like a machine, she plans her season perfectly, and she never loses focus. That’s what I’m trying to learn.”
Sports analyst Martin Keino, son of Kipchoge Keino, believes this cross-gender inspiration is healthy.
“Kenya’s women have raised the bar. The men now know they can’t just rely on history. Wanyonyi’s win shows the boys are watching — and catching up,” he said during a KBC Sports Review segment.

The Road Ahead
For Kenya’s men, the challenge is clear — rebuild the track empire one step at a time. The 2026 Commonwealth Games and the 2027 World Championships offer the perfect stages.
Wanyonyi’s Tokyo gold, Cheruiyot’s and Serem’s (bronze) may have been a light in a dark tunnel, but it could mark the beginning of Kenya’s men’s renaissance.
In many ways, Wanyonyi’s rise mirrors Kenya’s athletic story — humble beginnings, explosive talent, and a relentless belief in redemption.
As Rudisha himself tweeted after the Tokyo final: “A new champion, same spirit. Kenya’s men are back.”
For now, Kenya’s women may hold the crown, but the men are gathering their forces again. And if Wanyonyi’s confident smile and golden finish are anything to go by — the kings are not gone. They’re simply preparing for a royal comeback.
The way forward
The allure of more money in road running is pricing away athletes at a tender age, posing the greatest threat to the East African powerhouse in losing its dominance in men’s races on the track. As veteran coach Julius Kirwa suggest, Kenya must address the issue of young male runners going to the road: “It is very difficult for an athlete to compete well at the track after going to the road. We are trying to address this problem with the Federation and we are talking to young athletes from the grassroots, just to ensure they understand the progression of going to the road.”
Secondly, we must be patient and nurture the new crop of runners and also use these young athletes and the legendary ones to motivate the hopefuls.
For example, Wanyonyi is never ashamed to talk about his late start in running start or previous personal struggles: “I know I motivate so many people because when they look at where I was and where I am now, they know anything is possible,” he reflected in an exclusive interview with Olympics.com.
Former javelin world champion Julius Yego, who captained the Tokyo squad, believes men’s disciplines are in transition. “We left it too late, and to get back on track will take time,” he said pointing to the collapse of the steeplechase dynasty, once Kenya’s fortress.
“We over-relied on the likes of Kemboi, Brimin Kipruto, and Paul Kipsiele and forgot to groom replacements,” he admitted.
Still, he insisted Edmund Serem’s bronze was a breakthrough to build on:  “It is a good start. We should take advantage and build a team around Edmund.”
But Yego also challenged male athletes to take responsibility saying ‘most lack patience’. For him, success comes from sacrifice and resilience, not shortcuts.
“When things don’t work, they jump off. I’ve been around since 2007, and it hasn’t been smooth. Between 2007 and 2010, it was very difficult, but I soldiered on,” he said.
Thirdly, Kenyans should not turn the current crisis into a gender war. In Beijing 2015, Kenya won seven golds, and five were men’s. Nobody complained then. Now that the women are shining, we must not blame the boy-child but work to lift him. Kenyans should be part of the solution by applauding the wins and the positives rather than criticizing everything.
Lastly, the federation should  organize more invitational meets for sprinters where the athletes can measure themselves against continental sprinting powerhouses. Ferdinand Omanyala has lit the spirit of sprinting and more young males want to run in the short races.
National sprints’ coach Stephen Mwaniki stresses the urgent need to sharpen the country’s sprinters through greater exposure and longer training camps to build team chemistry.
‎“We need more exposure for our sprinters so they can learn to compete and excel on the big stage. Competing against countries like Botswana and South Africa in invitational events will give us the edge we currently lack,” Mwaniki explained.
‎He also emphasized the importance of longer, structured training camps to sharpen technical areas, especially in relays.