Marco Arop takes silver in 800m final, sets North American record
Arop's time–1:41.20–is the fastest ever run by a North American athlete
Nick Iwanyshyn
The world 800m champion, Edmonton’s Marco Arop, has won the silver medal in Saturday’s 800m final at the Paris Olympics, finishing in 1:41.20–an almost two-second personal best and North American record. Arop was outdipped at the line by Kenya’s Emmanuel Wanyonyi, who ran 1:41.19 (and who is only 20). Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati rounded out the podium in 1:41.50.
Bryce Hoppel broke the American record by almost a second, running 1:41.67 for fourth place; Arop’s time improved on his own Canadian record of 1:42.85, set at the 2023 Pre Classic. Wanyonyi’s and Arop’s times are the third and fourth fastest in the history of the 800m event.
Wanyonyi took the race out hard, going to the front, along with France’s Gabriel Tual (who had run 1:41 at the Paris Diamond League meeting in July) while Arop settled in at the back; Wanyonyi went through the first lap in 50.28. Arop then made his way to the front, well wide of the field so as to stay out of trouble, followed by Sedjati. Tual and Wanyonyi battled for the lead, with Hoppel now in third position, but Arop’s steady advance was unstoppable, and he was neck and neck with Wanyonyi at the line.
After the race, Arop told media, “I wasn’t sure if it was going to be fast or tactical this race, and it ended up being both, similar to last year’s world final. I thought I had timed it just right, but it was so so close, and I couldn’t have asked for a better race. Huge, huge personal best today.”
This is the first Olympic 800m medal for Canada since Bill Crothers took silver at the Tokyo Olympics in 1964, and Canada’s first-ever silver medal in the event.
The 25-year-old said his strategy going into these Games is to manage his efforts in the heats and semis, saving energy for what could be a fast final. “It has felt great so far,” Arop told Canadian Running pre-race. “I’ve been practising staying composed and making it look as easy as possible.”
Arop added that Wanyonyi is “an incredible athlete.”
“It’s not going to be the first time we have a race like that; hopefully next time I end up on top,” Arop added. “I’ve got to give him credit where credit is due. The entire field was amazing tonight.”
Athletics events at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games are taking place from Aug. 1-11. Today’s coverage is brought to you by Canadian Running and ASICS Canada. Follow us on Twitter on Instagram for all things Team Canada and up-to-date exclusive news and content.
