Marco Arop sets national record in Diamond League second-place finish

EUGENE, Ore. –

Canada’s Marco Arop set a national record and personal best in a second-place finish in the men’s 800 metres at the Diamond League final on Sunday.

The 24-year-old ran a time of one minute 42.85 seconds. The previous Canadian record was 1:43.20, set by Brandon McBride in 2018 with Arop’s previous personal best being 1:43.24, which he ran on Sept. 2.

Kenya’s Emmanuel Wanyonyi took the title at the Prefontaine Classic with a meeting record and world-leading time of 1:42.80. Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati was third at 1:43.06.

Edmonton’s Arop was in second for a bit more than half the race before taking the lead from Jamaica’s Navasky Anderson. However, Wanyonyi pulled ahead late to snatch first from Arop.

Arop outlasted the 19-year-old Wanyonyi at the world championships in August to become the first Canadian man to win world gold in the event.

Andre De Grasse of Markham, Ont., and Toronto’s Aaron Brown are set to compete in the men’s 200 final later Sunday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2023.