Emmanuel Wanyonyi reaped big this week. Photos: PSCU/Grand Slam Track

World 800m champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi has had a great week after receiving bumper rewards from government and Grand Slam Track thanks to his track heroics.

Olympics and world 800m champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi has enjoyed a great week having seen his bank balance boosted significantly.

Wanyonyi had an impressive September as he won the Diamond League Trophy before adding the World Championships gold which saw him bank close to Ksh13 millions from the two events.

The 21-year-old finally managed to win his first world title after a great finishing kick that fended off rivals and the gold medal at the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo earned him $70,000 (Ksh9 million).

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Having returned home, October has started in great fashion for Wanyonyi as he was among the recipients of a government reward to medalists from Tokyo while a day later, Grand Slam Track came with good news.

On Thursday, President William Ruto hosted Team Kenya athletes at State House, Nairobi where gold medalists received Ksh3 million, Ksh2 million for silver and Ksh1 million for bronze after a splendid show in Tokyo that saw the country finish second with 11 medals, seven of them gold.

It means Wanyonyi, the only Kenyan man to win gold in Tokyo, pocketed Ksh3 million and the following day, Michael Johnson-led Grand Slam Track made a partial payment to its athletes after months of empty promises that were threating to turn into a legal mess.

Grand Slam Track scaled down its programme in the third leg in Philadelphia after the opening rounds in Kingston and Miami while cancelling the final event in Los Angeles.

It later emerged that financial challenges were at the core of their struggles and since May, participants had been waiting for their prize money and appearance fees until this week when Grand Slam Track received an eight-figure emergency lifeline.

That has seen them pay half of what they owe athletes and Wanyonyi was among them, having won the Short Distance (1,500m and 800m) in Kingston which guaranteed him the top prize of $100,000 (Ksh12.9 million).

With the partial payment, Wanyonyi has banked an extra Ksh6 million this week, taking his total to Ksh9 million in a space of two days from the government and Grand Slam Track.

The Olympics 800m champion will be hoping that the remaining half is paid out soon after an impressive season that saw him reap bumper rewards on the track this year.