Emmanuel Wanyonyi grew up in extreme poverty in a small village in western Kenya and daily life was marked by hardship.
At the age of 10, he was forced to leave school and worked long hours herding cattle. Sometimes he earned less than $2 a month.
Wanyonyi was exploited and frequently changed jobs after sometimes going unpaid. Still, the man who would become the reigning Olympic 800-meter champion persevered because shelter and food were provided.
“Living and looking after livestock as a child was tough,” Wanyonyi told BBC Sport Africa.
“I thought about quitting my job and moving back home, but remembered that I would still face the same challenges I was running from.
“Whenever I got something small, I would take it home so my brothers and sisters could have something to eat.”
Wanyonyi, one of 11 children, had no choice but to leave school because his family could not afford the exam fee of just 40 Kenyan shillings ($0.30).
He eventually managed to return to teaching with some of the earnings from his time as a shepherd boy and a spell as a laborer, and discovered a sense of purpose and escape in athletics.
Then came the sudden and unexplained death of his father, who worked as a janitor at a dam, in 2018.
“He had just stopped by the school to give me some money to buy running shoes with the payment he got that day,” Wanyonyi, now 20, explained.
“It’s like he was strangled and placed near the water. He was found with a mark on his head as if he had been hit.
“I think what happened is he put his clothes there to swim and someone came and robbed him.”
With no official autopsy report, Wanyonyi says his family “never found closure.”
“That day my world fell apart. It was painful, but I didn’t have the luxury of grieving. I had to immediately become the man of the house.”
A meteoric rise to stardom
In the absence of his father, Wanyonyi hoped to pursue a career in athletics to provide for his family.
But he was initially ridiculed because his home region, unlike other parts of Kenya, is not known for producing elite runners.
“When [Emmanuel] ran, people mocked and laughed at him,” Wanyonyi’s mother Margaret Nasimiyu recalled.
“I was crying and sad about it, but my son said to me, ‘Don’t cry, mommy. One day I will buy you land and you will live a good life.”
“I thought it was just a joke, but God was with him.”
After returning to school, Wanyonyi had no money for good running shoes.
“If I could find shoes, I would train. If not, I would run barefoot through the fields,” he added.
“Sometimes the shoes would break one day and I would have to wait until I could find another pair. But I never let that stop me.”
However, Wanyonyi credits his early years – and the challenges he overcame – as strengthening him mentally.
“There is no challenge in life that can shock me,” he said.
“When people doubted me or laughed at me, I didn’t let it break me.”
Olympic triumph in Paris
Wanyonyi’s ingenuity and drive caught the attention of his teachers, and he began participating in regional events in Kenya.
Despite a lack of formal training, he stood out for his raw speed and endurance and quickly rose through the ranks with a series of victories.
“People kept telling me, ‘You can go far, Emmanuel,’ but I didn’t believe it,” he said.
“I didn’t see myself as anything special. I was just running.”
In June this year, Wanyonyi, still at the age of 19, became the third fastest 800m runner of all time at the Olympic trials in Kenya.
He then won gold at Paris 2024 in August.
“It’s not just a title; it has a lot of meaning in my life,” Wanyonyi said.
“I wish my dad was here to see me run. I would push even harder because of him, because of all the love he had for me.”
Wanyonyi’s coach Claudio Berardelli has praised him as “an incredible talent”.
“He has a unique combination of speed and endurance,” the Italian told BBC Sport Africa.
On the hunt for the world record
Having won Olympic gold so early in his career, Wanyonyi’s ambitions have grown.
His sights are set on breaking the 800m world record of one minute and 40.91 seconds, which fellow countryman David Rudisha set at the 2012 London Olympics.
Wanyonyi was just two-tenths of a second off that mark at the Diamond League meeting in Lausanne in August.
“He has the ability to keep pushing when others start to fade,” Beradelli said.
The Italian brings his own experience, having previously worked with three world champions in the 800 meters.
Advances in sports technology, from court surfaces to shoes, could help Wanyonyi in his pursuit of the record, while his mental strength has been crucial.
“Wanyonyi is a champion in his eyes,” his coach noted.
“He is fearless, probably because of his background. Even when he has difficult days, you will never see him lose hope.
“He knows there’s always a new day to try again. That’s what sets him apart.”
Improve family life
For Wanyonyi, breaking the world record is about much more than just setting a time.
“I want to leave a legacy,” he said with quiet determination.
“I’m not obsessed with it, but I believe it’s possible. I know there’s a level I have to reach and I’m not there yet.”
His success has allowed him to improve his family’s circumstances, building three-bedroom houses for his mother and three older brothers, and paying school fees for his four younger siblings.
“I wanted to do what my father would have done for them,” he said.
“They needed to know they weren’t alone.”
As he prepares for the 2025 season – and ultimately the pursuit of the world record – Wanyonyi’s family remains his underlying motivation.
“When I look at my family and where we come from, it just gives me strength. I can’t sleep and I can’t rest,” he said.
“They have been through so much and I want to give them a better life.”
