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Marco Arop

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Marco Arop
Arop at the U20 Pan American Championships in July 2017
Personal information
Born (1998-09-20) September 20, 1998 (age 26)
Khartoum, Sudan
Home townEdmonton, Alberta[1]
Height193 cm (6 ft 4 in)
Weight78 kg (172 lb)
Sport
CountryCanada
SportTrack
Event800 metres
College teamMississippi State Bulldogs
ClubVoléo Athletics
Coached byChristopher V. Woods
Achievements and titles
Highest world ranking1st (800 m, 2023)
Personal bests800 m: 1:42.85 NR (Eugene 2023)
1000 m: 2:14:35 NR (Monaco 2022)
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  Canada
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2023 Budapest 800 m
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Eugene 800 m
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 2019 Lima 800 m
NACAC Championships
Silver medal – second place 2018 Toronto 800 m
Pan American U20 Championships
Silver medal – second place 2017 Trujillo 800 m

Marco Arop (born September 20, 1998) is a Canadian track and field athlete competing in the middle distance events. Arop is the reigning world champion in the 800 m, winning gold at the 2023 World Athletics Championship, after winning bronze the previous year at the 2022 World Athletics Championships. He was the first Canadian win a world championship in the 800 m. Arop was also the 2019 Pan American Games champion in 800 m. Arop represented Canada at the 2020 Summer Olympics and he currently holds a Canadian national record personal best of 1:42.85[2] in the 800 m.

Early life

The Arop family fled Sudan during the civil war of the 1990s when Marco was a toddler. He spent his early years sharing an apartment in Egypt with his parents and three older brothers before they emigrated to Canada.[3] The family lived in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan for two years, before taking up residence in Edmonton, Alberta.[4] Arop's initial athletic focus was basketball. He was offered a scholarship by Concordia University of Edmonton but switched his focus to track upon the recommendation of his high school basketball coach, who would later admit, "I had no idea that Marco was going to be this good."[5]

Competitive career

Arop competed for Mississippi State in the 2018 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field 800m in Eugene, Oregon, finishing in second place. He won the gold medal in the 800 m at the 2019 Pan American Games, setting a new Pan American record in the process.[6] He then made his World Championship debut at the 2019 edition in Doha. Qualifying to the final of the 800 m, he finished seventh. After the World Championships, Arop decided to end his amateur career and turn professional full-time, though the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic meant that the 2020 athletic season was largely cancelled.[7]

In 2021, Arop competed in his first full professional season, making his first Diamond League podium with a silver medal at the BAUHAUS-galan in Stockholm.[7] Named to his first Olympic team, Arop competed in the 800 m event at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Entering the race as a podium contender, he finished seventh in his semi-final. He did not advance to the event final, a major disappointment that he and his coaches attributed to a longstanding habit of starting too quickly, resulting in fading toward the end of the race.[8][9] In his next event that season, the Prefontaine Classic on the 2021 Diamond League circuit, Arop claimed the gold medal ahead of the reigning Olympic gold and silver medallists, Emmanuel Korir and Ferguson Rotich.[10] Five days later, at the Athletissima in Lausanne, Arop again defeated Korir and Rotich to claim his second Diamond League gold.[11] Arop's results qualified him to the Diamond League Final in Zürich, where he finished in fourth place.[12]

Arop began 2022 with this debut at the World Athletics Indoor Championships at the 2022 edition in Belgrade. He once again started a race hard and was leading the 800 m at the halfway point, but faded badly down the stretch and finished in eighth place.[13] On the 2022 Diamond League, Arop won his third Diamond League gold, and first of the season, at the British Grand Prix in Birmingham.[14] The following month, he won another Canadian national title, besting silver medallist Brandon McBride by almost a full second.[15] In an invitational event held at Foote Field weeks before the 2022 World Athletics Championships, he ran the 800 m in 1:43.61, the third-best time for any athlete that year to date.[4] Arop had the fastest time in the heats of the 800 m in Eugene, Oregon, advancing to the semi-finals.[16] He was second in his semi-final, passed just at the line by Algerian Slimane Moula, and secured automatic qualification to the final. Looking ahead, Arop said, "it's been a great first two rounds, but if I can't get it done in the final, I won't feel like I completed anything."[17] Racing a 1:44.28 time in the final, Arop won the bronze medal, only the second medal for a Canadian in the 800 m at the World Championships. Arop said this medal "means the world" and was "already looking forward to bigger and better next year."[18][19] Appearing in the 1000 m event at the Herculis meet in Monaco, he set a new national record time of 2:14.35, breaking a decade-old best of Nathan Brannen's.[20]

Going into the 2023 World Athletics Championships, Arop topped the World Athletics rankings for 800 m runners.[21] He proceeded through the heats by finishing in first place and also won his semifinal heat, leading both from start to finish. In the final, Arop changed strategies and dropped to the back of the pack over the first lap, after 500 m, he moved toward the lead of the pack and did not relinquish first place. Arop was the first Canadian male to win the 800 m at the World Athletics Championships.[22] After the race he said that "my best race plan is to be ready for anything and sometimes that's not having a race plan. When the [start] gun [sounded] my body was telling me to be patient. I've visualized this so many times and seen myself winning, but it doesn't compare to the real thing. I'm still in disbelief and I gotta give a lot of credit to my coach, my support team, my family and everybody behind me."[23] Shortly after his World Championship victory, Arop set a new personal best time of 1:43.24 at the 2023 Xiamen Diamond League event, where he finished narrowly second to Kenyan Emmanuel Wanyonyi.[24] In the season-ending 2023 Diamond League Prefontaine Classic he finished second to Wanyonyi again, while setting a new Canadian national record and personal best time of 1:42.85.[2]

Competition record

Championship results

Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
Representing Canada
2017 Canada Summer Games Winnipeg 1st 800 m 1:49:23
Pan American U20 Championships Trujillo 2nd 800 m 1:47.08
2018 Canadian Championships Ottawa 1st 800 m 1:46:15
NACAC Championships Toronto 2nd 800 m 1:46.82
2019 Canadian Championships Montreal 2nd 800 m 1:46:93
Pan American Games Lima 1st 800 m 1:44.25
World Championships Doha 7th 800 m 1:45.78
2021 Olympic Games Tokyo 14th (sf) 800 m 1:44.90
2022 World Indoor Championships Belgrade 8th 800 m 1:47.58
Canadian Championships Langley 1st 800 m 1:44.39
World Championships Eugene 3rd 800 m 1:44.28
2023 Canadian Championships Langley 1st 800 m 1:44.39
World Championships Budapest 1st 800 m 1:44.24


Circuit wins

References

  1. ^ "Canadian Olympic Committee profile". Canadian Olympic Committee. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
  2. ^ a b "De Grasse stuns 200m field to become Canada's 1st Diamond League champion since 2011". CBC Sports. The Canadian Press. September 17, 2023. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
  3. ^ Ogden, Brian (July 13, 2021). "Mississippi State Athletics". hailstate.com. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
  4. ^ a b Heroux, Devin (July 12, 2022). "Canadian 800m champ Marco Arop carries spirit of resilient family's journey with every step". CBC Sports. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  5. ^ "Canadian Arop has become one of most consistent 800m runners in the world". Red Deer Advocate. September 9, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  6. ^ "Mississippi State Athletics". hailstate.com. Retrieved June 19, 2018.
  7. ^ a b Moddejonge, Gerry (July 22, 2021). "Marco Arop gets to Tokyo Olympics 800 metres at a time". Edmonton Sun. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  8. ^ Gillespie, Kerry (July 19, 2022). "Canada's Marco Arop is learning it's not always better to lead than follow". Toronto Star. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  9. ^ Harrison, Doug (September 2, 2021). "Marco Arop keeps runners guessing with 800-metre dominance since Olympic letdown". CBC Sports. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  10. ^ "Andre De Grasse claims 100m victory with blazing time at Prefontaine Classic". CBC Sports. August 26, 2021. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
  11. ^ "Canada's Marco Arop wins 2nd consecutive Diamond League 800m race". CBC Sports. August 21, 2021. Retrieved August 26, 2021.
  12. ^ Ogden, Brian (September 9, 2021). "Arop, Peters Complete First Diamond League Season". hailstate.com. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  13. ^ Dutch, Taylor; Hatler, Chris (March 21, 2022). "Results and Highlights from the 2022 World Athletics Indoor Championships". Runner's World. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  14. ^ Dickinson, Marley (May 21, 2022). "Canada's Marco Arop shines at Birmingham Diamond League". Running Magazine. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  15. ^ Dickinson, Marley (June 26, 2022). "Madeleine Kelly and Marco Arop shine at Canadian Championships". Running Magazine. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  16. ^ Heroux, Devin (July 20, 2022). "Arop through to men's 800m semis at athletics worlds, while McBride appeal denied". CBC Sports. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  17. ^ Heroux, Devin (July 21, 2022). "Canada's Marco Arop cruises into 800m final at World Athletics Championships". CBC Sports. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
  18. ^ Dickinson, Marley (July 23, 2022). "Marco Arop captures bronze in the men's 800m". Running Magazine. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
  19. ^ Heroux, Devin (July 23, 2022). "Canada's Marco Arop wins bronze in men's 800m at athletics worlds". CBC Sports. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
  20. ^ Harrison, Doug (August 10, 2022). "Arop runs to Canadian record over 1,000 metres, placing 3rd at Diamond League Monaco". CBC Sports. Retrieved August 10, 2022.
  21. ^ "Arop Claims World No. 1 Ranking". Mississippi State Bulldogs. June 26, 2023. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
  22. ^ "Canadian contenders focused on Diamond League Final after successful athletics worlds". CBC Sports. August 31, 2023.
  23. ^ "Victorious Pierce LePage makes world decathlon history in leading Canada's 4-medal haul". CBC Sports. August 26, 2023. Retrieved September 2, 2023.
  24. ^ "World champ Marco Arop sets personal best in men's 800m at Diamond League in China". CBC Sports. September 2, 2023. Retrieved September 2, 2023.
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