Burgin And Wanyonyi Set For London Diamond League Showdown
by 24th June 2026
Max Burgin (GBR) and Emmanuel Wanyonyi (KEN) will go head to head at the Novuna London Athletics Meet in the men’s 800m on Saturday 18 July.
The pair were part of a high-quality contest in London in 2025 and are set to meet again at the London Stadium this summer. Olympic champion Wanyonyi took victory on that occasion in a meeting record of 1:42.00, with Burgin finishing third in a personal best 1:42.36.
Wanyonyi went on to underline his status as one of the leading middle-distance athletes in the world by claiming the global title in Tokyo in a championship record time of 1:41.86. Burgin also impressed on the world stage, finishing sixth in a historic final in which all eight athletes broke the 1:43.00 barrier, improving his personal best to 1:42.29.
Burgin has made a strong start to his 2026 campaign. The British athlete clocked a world-leading 1:42.98 to secure his first Diamond League victory in Rabat, finishing ahead of Wanyonyi in second place.
Off the track, Wanyonyi celebrated becoming a father at the start of June before returning to competition at the Oslo Diamond League. There, he finished second in a thrilling photo finish, clocking 1:42.09 as American teenager Cooper Lutkenhaus edged victory by one hundredth of a second with a new world-leading time of 1:42.08.
"I'm really excited to come back to London. I have good memories from last year, of course, after winning the race in a solid 1'42''00. Because 2026 is not a World Champs or Olympic year, I'm very focused on the Diamond League circuit.
The Kenyan said: “My goal and hope in London is to repeat the victory from last year and to run a very fast time."
With both athletes in impressive form, the stage is set for another high-calibre men’s 800m in front of a big home crowd in London.
Burgin, who hails from Halifax, said: “I’ve had some of the best performances of my career at the London stadium. I’m hoping for another big one this year, and having the best in the world alongside me in the race will push me to that extra level, I’m sure of it.”
There are fewer than 10% tickets left for the Novuna London Athletics Meet, the world’s biggest one-day athletics event and the eleventh meeting of the 2026 Wanda Diamond League.
The series comprises 15 of the most prestigious events in global track and field across four different continents and began in Shanghai/Keqiao on 16 May (as a result of the Mazzraty Doha Meeting being rescheduled from 8 May to 19 June). It concludes with a single final across two days in Brussels (4-5 September).
Buy your tickets now: https://www.britishathletics.org.uk/events-and-tickets/novuna-london-athletics-meet-2026/