UTEP’s Emmaunel Korir advances to 800m semi-finals at World Championships in London

UTEP’s Emmaunel Korir is another step closer to being called a world champion.

The freshman from Kenya is dominate in the 800m run.

While running for UTEP last season, Korir won two NCAA titles in the event.

Saturday, Korir qualified for the semi-finals in the 800m at the IAAF World Track & Field Championships in London.

Korir won his heat with a time of 1:47:08.

Even though it was the second slowest qualifying time of the day, it was good enough to punch his ticket to Sunday’s semi-finals.

Korir is a favorite to win the event after 800m champion and world-record holder David Rudisha dropped out of the event due to an injury.

Korir also confirmed that he has gone pro having signed a contract with Nike.

He says he still plans to return to UTEP to train and finish his studies.