Stumble doesn’t stop Emmanuel Kipkurui Korir from winning 800 meters

By Brenten Kelly

Emmanuel Kipkurui Korir and Nijel Amos were neck and neck in the Prefontaine Classic’s 800 meters Friday evening until the 200-meter mark, where Amos accidentally spiked Korir on the back of the leg. Korir stumbled but regained his position on the last 100 meters.

“I was worried I was about to fall, but then I said no,” Korir said. “I was going to try my best, so I just tried. I wasn’t expecting it, so I kept running.”

Korir won the men’s 800 meters with season-best time of 1 minute, 45.16 seconds. He finished .35 ahead of Amos and .98 ahead of fellow Kenyan Wycliffe Kinyamal, who finished third.

This was not the first time Korir experienced a trip in the middle of the 800 meters. At the 2017 NCAA Indoor Championships, he was tripped at the same spot while running for UTEP. Just as he did Friday, Korir won the event.

“Yeah, I remember it was at the same place,” he said. “Sometimes that happens. You just run from it.”

Amos benefitted from Korir’s stumble by taking the lead for the majority of the race. Although Amos finished second with a time of 1:45.51, he felt confident about his overall performance.

“I didn’t feel anyone behind me,” said Amos, the 2012 Olympic silver medalist from Botswana who runs for OTC Elite. “But I knew their strength and I knew I wasn’t on my top speed last race. If I was on my top speed, then I would have been good.”

This is Korir’s first year in the Diamond League, and he recorded his second career win. But the Kenyan does not see a big difference in competition from college to professionals.

“It’s been basically the same, but running with professional athletes,” he said. “I don’t see a difference. We are all similar.”

 

Brenten Kelly

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