Marco Arop sets Canadian 1,000-metre record at New Balance Indoor Grand Prix

Canada’s Marco Arop won the men’s 1,000 metres in a Canadian indoor record time at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in Boston on Sunday to claim his fourth middle-distance national record time.

The Edmonton runner clocked two minutes 14.74 seconds, topping Nate Brannen’s 2:16.87 national mark from March 2, 2014.

The 25-year-old was also only 54-100ths of a second off the indoor world record of 2:14.20, set by Ayanleh Souleiman of Djibouti on Feb. 17, 2016 at Globe Arena in Stockholm.

Sunday’s competition wasn’t as contentious, with Arop leading through every 200-metre split at the TRACK at New Balance, and finished more than two seconds ahead of all other competitors.

Americans Bryce Hoppel (2:16.91), Sam Ellis (2:17.10) and Josh Hoey (2:17.23) — with the latter setting personal-best times — placed 2-3-4.

Arop, who was born in Khartoum, Sudan, is just over one week removed from lowering his national indoor record in the men’s 800 by 40-100ths, a 1:45.50 performance at the Razorback Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark., on Jan. 27.

Last September, Arop broke Brandon McBride’s Canadian record in the outdoor 800 at the Diamond League Final in Eugene, Ore., clocking 1:42.85 to finish second behind Kenya’s Emmanuel Wanyonyi.

WATCH | Arop’s Canadian-record 800m run at 2023 Diamond League Final:

In August 2022 at a Diamond League meet in Monaco, Arop’s 2:14.35 over 1,000m took down Brannen’s 10-year-old Canadian mark by 2.17 seconds.

Arop will hope to carry his early-2024 momentum into Paris this summer at his second Olympic Games.

He was seventh in his semifinal heat in the 800 at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 but didn’t advance to the final, placing 14th overall.

Canada’s other results Sunday in Boston:

• Ben Flanagan, men’s 3,000 metres — 4th, 7:40.19, personal best (7:43.49 previous PB)
• Charles Philibert-Thiboutot, men’s 3,000 — 6th, 7:41.12 PB (7:49.82 previous PB)
• Kieran Lumb, men’s 1,500 — 7th, 3:37.75
• Lucia Stafford, women’s 1,500 — 7th, 4:08.36
• Julie-Anne Staehli, women’s 3,000 — 10th, 8:51.19