Kenyan Emmanuel Wanyonji takes 800 metres gold with personal best

By Rachel Steinberg, PA, Paris

Kenyan Emmanuel Wanyonyi kicked off the final night of Olympic at Stade de France with gold in the men’s 800 metres final.

Wanyonyi won in a personal best 1:41.19 with Canadian world champion Marco Arop taking silver and Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati completing the podium.

Great Britain’s Max Burgin had already made history just by securing his place in the medal race, the first British man to reach a final in the event since Andrew Osagie at London 2012.

The Halifax athlete fought hard and was initially keeping pace near the front, but by his second approach of the final bend was at the back of the pack and ultimately finished eighth in 1:43.84.

Burgin, 22, was ranked 124th in the world heading into Saturday’s final, 111 places below Morocco’s sixth-place finisher, the only other man in the final outside the top 10.

Arop ran 1:41.20 to set a new North American area record, while there was a new national record for the United States’ fourth-placed finisher Bryce Hoppel.

Burgin said: “It was a bit tough. I felt so happy and relieved to be in the final yesterday that I said to myself I’d go out there and give my best and that meant sitting on the leading pack .

“ I thought I’d be maybe able to handle a bit faster pace but the quick turnaround got to me. “