Running News Daily

Emmanuel Korir reveals when he will make long-awaited return

Olympic 800m champion Emmanuel Korir has announced when he will return to action as he seeks to return to shape ahead of his title defense in Paris after a poor 2023 campaign.

Olympic 800m champion Emmanuel Korir will make his long return to action at the Marrakech Diamond League in Morocco on May 27.

Korir has not been in competitive action since his disappointing outing at the 2023 World Championships when he was eliminated at the heats and subsequently failed to defend his title.

The 28-year-old was just returning after a long injury layoff but found the going tough after which he went downlow perhaps to tune up for his Olympic title defense.

Nine months on and Korir will be hoping for a good outing in Marrakech where he will run in the 800m but faces stiff competition from compatriots Emmanuel Wanyonyi and Wycliffe Kinyamal.

World 800m silver medalist Wanyonyi is the man of the moment and will head into the race on confidence having shown no signs of rustiness at the Kip Keino Classic last month, when he ran a world leading time of 1:43.57 to win what was his first race of the season.

Another extra motivation for Korir will be the need to hit the Olympic qualifying time given his 1:46.78, clocked at the World Championship was out of the set standard of 1:44:70.

Korir is hoping to get back to the heights of 2022 when he won the world title in 1:43.71 which will also get him closer to his rivals ahead of the Olympics.

With new runners emerging, such as world champion Marco Arop of Canada and Wanyonyi in his absence, the 28-year-old has a lot of work on his hands to regain his old form.

Korir, who has had to deal with a calf injury, also opened his 2023 season in Morocco, starting in Rabat, where he finished eighth, before proceeding to Paris, France, only to finish 10th.

He followed that up with another eighth-place finish in Stockholm, Sweden before his poor showing at the World Championships.