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Monaco Diamond League reveals insane men’s 800m lineup

Next week, Canada's Marco Arop will face off against the other Olympic podium finishers for the first time since last September

Marco Arop Grand Slam

With the newly released entry lists for the upcoming Monaco Diamond League meeting, the track world is in for one of the most electric 800m showdowns of 2025. On Tuesday, organizers confirmed the field for the 10th stop on the Diamond League circuit, set for July 11 at the Stade Louis-II in Monaco’s Fontvieille district.

The standout event? Without question, the men’s 800m, which will feature the entire Olympic podium–Kenya’s Emmanuel Wanyonyi, Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati and Canada’s Marco Arop. They’ll be joined by nearly every top-10 runner in the world this year, making it one of the deepest fields we’ve seen.

Marco Arop Paris 2024
Marco Arop competes in the 800m semi-final at Paris 2024. Photo: Nick Iwanyshyn

Arop could have his work cut out for him: despite coming in as the reigning world champion, the Canadian’s season’s best of 1:48.38 doesn’t even crack the global top 10 this year.

The lineup

Emmanuel Wanyonyi (Kenya) – world #1

Djamel Sedjati (Algeria) – world #2

Josh Hoey (U.S.A.) – world #3

Gabriel Tual (France) – world #5

Mohamed Attaoui (Spain) – world #6

Slimane Moula (Algeria) – world #7

Bryce Hoppel (U.S.A.) – world #8

Max Burgin (U.K.) – world #10

Marco Arop (Canada) – world #12

Peter Bol (Australia) – world #19

Patryk Sieradzki (Poland) – world #69

Still only 20, Wanyonyi, the reigning Olympic champion, is the only runner in the world this year to break 1:42, boasting a world-leading 1:41.95.

Six of the top-10 entrants ran their season’s bests at last month’s Stockholm Diamond League in Sweden, suggesting Monaco could be just as fast–or faster.

For Arop, Monaco marks his Diamond League debut of 2025, following the early conclusion of the Grand Slam Track (GST) season. He’s the only member of Monaco’s field who competed as a Racer in GST’s inaugural year, winning all three Slam 800m races. Keep in mind, the 800m wasn’t Arop’s sole focus this year; as a Racer, he also took on the unfamiliar 1,500m at each Slam, clocking a respectable season’s best of 3:35.38.

Marco Arop
Marco Arop wins silver in the men’s 800m final at Paris 2024. Photo: Nick Iwanyshyn

The Monaco Diamond League will mark the first showdown of the full Olympic podium since the Diamond League Final in Brussels last September, where Wanyonyi took the crown. The question now: can Wanyonyi stay on top, or will Arop claim a top spot in the world rankings?

The only other Canadian set to compete in Monaco is world champion shot putter Sarah Mitton, who will also throw at Saturday’s Prefontaine Classic Diamond League meeting in Eugene, Ore.

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