Olympic Track and Field 2021: Men's 800M Medal Winners, Times and Results

AP Photo/Petr David Josek

Kenyan runners went 1-2 in the men's 800 meters at the 2021 Summer Olympics in Tokyo on Wednesday with Emmanuel Kipkurui Korir taking gold.

With a time of 1:45.06, Korir beat out teammate Ferguson Cheruiyot Rotich, who won silver after crossing the finish line in 1:45.23. Poland's Patryk Dobek was the bronze medalist with a time of 1:45.39.

Kenya has now won the men's 800 meters at each of the past four Olympics, and it has gotten two runners on the podium three times during that stretch.

Here is a look at the full finishing order for Wednesday's race, courtesy of Olympics.com:

1. Emmanuel Kipkurui Korir (KEN): 1:45.06

2. Ferguson Cheruiyot Rotich (KEN): 1:45.23

3. Patryk Dobek (POL): 1:45.39

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4. Peter Bol (AUS): 1:45.92

5. Adrian Ben (ESP): 1:45.96

6. Amel Tuka (BIH): 1:45.98

7. Gabriel Tual (FRA): 1:46.03

8. Nijel Amos (BOT): 1:46.41

9. Clayton Murphy (USA): 1:46.53

While the finishing margin between Korir, Rotich and Dobek was close, they essentially blew away the rest of the field:

Korir's win marked the first gold medal in any event for Kenya at the Tokyo Olympics, and it came as little surprise that the golden breakthrough occurred in the men's 800.

Kenya's dominance in the event began in 1988 when Paul Ereng took gold at the Seoul Olympics, followed by William Tanui doing the same four years later in Barcelona.

After winning just one bronze in the event over the next three Olympics, Kenya returned to the top of the podium in 2008 when Wilfred Bungei won the race. David Rudisha then prevailed in both 2012 and 2016.

Rudisha was among those to congratulate Korir and Rotich on Wednesday, as did former Kenyan prime minister Raila Odinga:

While the success of Korir and Rotich wasn't unexpected, Dobek's bronze was to some degree, as no Polish man had ever medaled in the men's 800 at the Olympics.

The eighth- and ninth-place finishers arguably turned in the most disappointing performances given what they accomplished five years ago at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Nijel Amos of Botswana was a top contender to medal Wednesday after taking silver in the event in Rio, but he could only muster an eighth-place result.

American Clayton Murphy won bronze in Rio, becoming the first American man to medal in the event since 1992. There was no repeat in Tokyo, however, as Murphy finished in last place.