Marco Arop smashes Canadian indoor 1,000m record at New Balance Grand Prix
Arop lowered the Canadian indoor 1,000m record by nearly three seconds
Photo by:
James Rhodes (@jrhodesathletics)
On Sunday at the New Balance Grand Prix, Edmonton’s Marco Arop smashed the Canadian indoor 1,000m record, clocking the second-fastest indoor time in history in 2:14.74. This is his fourth Canadian middle-distance record and his second of the year.
Arop led the five-lap race from gun to tape at The TRACK at New Balance in Boston, publicly announcing that he was targeting the indoor 1,000m world record of 2:14.20.
The 25-year-old world champion over 800 metres said his alternative goal was to at least come away with the national record. His winning time was a near three-second personal best, beating the previous national record of 2:16.87 by two seconds (held by 2016 Olympic 1,500m finalist Nathan Brannen). His time is also the second-fastest mark in history over the distance.
“My agent asked me a few months ago if I wanted to break the world record here,” Arop said in a post-race interview. “I thought it was in the cards, but to come close shows I am in great shape.”
SO CLOSE to a world record!
Marco Arop 🇨🇦 finishes just about half a second off the men's 1,000m indoor world record with a 2:14.74 win at New Balance Indoor Grand Prix #WorldIndoorTour #nbigp pic.twitter.com/vqtzEONjMh
— FloTrack (@FloTrack) February 4, 2024
Arop now has two Canadian national records in his only two races of the indoor season. Last weekend at the Razorback Invitational in Arkansas, he set a new indoor 800m national record of 1:45.50. With the 2024 World Indoor Championships next month, Arop plans to skip the major championship to focus on his outdoor season. “I don’t want to get too ahead of myself,” says Arop. “It’s a big year this year, and I want to become the Olympic champion and chase world records, including the 800m world record.”
When Arop was asked about time goals for 2024, he said his main objective is to do whatever it takes to become the Olympic 800m champion.
Four Canadians record indoor personal bests
Arop was one of four Canadian athletes to record a new personal best at the 2024 New Balance Grand Prix. In the men’s 3,000m, Ben Flanagan and Charles Philibert-Thiboutot just came a few seconds shy of the Canadian indoor record of 7:38.39. Flanagan finished fourth in a new personal best of 7:40.19, and Philibert-Thiboutot was sixth in a near 10-second PB of 7:41.12.
The race went out at world record pace for 3,000m, with Ethiopian Olympic silver medallist Lamecha Girma in the field. With Girma taking an early lead, Philibert-Thiboutot felt he had to make a surge from the chase pack to challenge the Canadian record time. Philibert-Thiboutot’s move helped him and Flanagan claw some time back to record their second-straight personal bests this 2024 indoor season.
Despite two consecutive PBs, Philibert-Thiboutot says he is waiting for that one race where everything just clicks. “I feel like conditions haven’t been perfect, and I’m hopeful for a big performance when everything comes together,” he says.
Back-to-back PBs for 🇨🇦 Charles Philibert-Thiboutot (@Chuck_PT) 👏
Despite the fast times, he says he’s still waiting for that one race where everything just clicks.#NBGP #RunYourWay pic.twitter.com/pl8Fa70nWB
— Canadian Running (@CanadianRunning) February 4, 2024
The New Balance Indoor Grand Prix was special for Philibert-Thiboutot, who had his family on hand to watch him race. “My family rarely gets to see me compete,” he says. “To have them drive down from Quebec to watch me compete here in Boston–it felt special.”
Another personal best came from a late addition to the New Balance Grand Prix field: Oshawa’s Mariam Abdul-Rashid in the women’s 60m hurdles. Abdul-Rashid came within four-one-hundredths of a second of the indoor world championship standard, recording a new personal best of 8.06 seconds. She finished eighth in the women’s final, competing against 2022 world champion Tobi Amsuan of Nigeria.
Speaking on her performance, Abdul-Rashid says she’s hungry for more opportunities at this level. “I know I’m right there; I just need to keep using these opportunities to show I belong.”
Her new personal best will put her in a good position for possible selection to next month’s World Indoor Championships in Glasgow.
For full results from the 2024 New Balance Indoor Grand Prix, check here.
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