Olympic and world 800m champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi will be chasing his first Diamond League victory of the season when he lines up at the Oslo meeting on Wednesday.

Wanyonyi heads into the meeting, also known as the Bislett games, looking to bounce back from a second-place finish in Rabat on May 31, where Britain’s Max Burgin clocked 1:42.98 to win ahead of Wanyonyi’s 1:43.56. Algeria’s Slimane Moula was third in 1:43.73.

He will also be aiming to defend the Oslo title he won last year after crossing the finish line in 1:42.78, ahead of Spain’s Mohamed Attaoui and Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati.

The 21-year-old, who recently welcomed his first-born son, believes that the Oslo track offers ideal conditions for fast times, drawing confidence from his performance at the Norwegian meeting last season.

“This is my second time running in Oslo. I ran here last year when I was not feeling well and still managed to run 1:42. So it shows the track is fast,” Wanyonyi said during the pre-race press conference, according to Athletics Kenya.

“If I find myself at the front, I will hold that pace to the finish so long as my body responds well.”

According to Wanyonyi, the current level of competition in the men’s 800m means the world record of 1:40.91, set by David Rudisha at the London Olympics in 2012, could soon come under threat.

“I believe now that anyone can run the world record,” he said.

Elsewhere, Kenya will also be represented in the men’s distance events by African 5,000m bronze medallist Cornelius Kemboi, 2023 World Championships 5,000m bronze medallist Jacob Krop and rising prospect Ishmael Rokitto, the 2024 World Under-20 cross-country champion.

Kemboi heads to Oslo seeking another strong performance after winning the 5,000m at this year’s Kip Keino Classic and will be looking to improve on his 13th-place finish at the Norwegian meeting in 2023.

Krop, one of Kenya’s leading 5,000m runners, returns to Oslo aiming to build on a season that has already produced podium finishes on the indoor circuit. The world bronze medallist finished 11th in last year’s race despite clocking a respectable 12:51.16.

Rokitto, meanwhile, continues to establish himself among Kenya’s emerging distance-running talents. He finished fifth at this year’s World Cross Country Championships and will be hoping to better the eighth-place finish he recorded in Oslo in 2023.