Marco Arop powered to victory in the Grand Slam Track 800-metre race at the organization’s inaugural event in Kingston, Jamaica on Sunday.
The Edmonton native led wire-to-wire, finishing in a time one minute 45.13 seconds, ahead of runner-up Emmanuel Wanyonyi
Wanyonyi, a 20-year-old from Kenya, hung on to claim the overall Short Distance title and accompanying $100,000 US in prize money, finishing in a time of 1:46.44. Bryce Hoppel of the United States finished third with a 1:47.02 time.
Sunday’s win helped Arop secure second in the overall Slam ranking behind Wanyonyi.
WATCH | Arop runs away with Grand Slam Track 800m, leading from start to finish:
Edmonton’s Marco Arop, the reigning 800-metre world champion, captures a victory in his signature event. Kenya’s Emmanuel Wanyonyi claims the men’s short distance title at the Grand Slam Track stop in Kingston, Jamaica, and Arop finishes second overall.
Competing in just the third 1,500m race of his career on Saturday, Arop finished sixth after falling off the pace — a race Wanyonyi won following an entertaining finish.
Joining the Grand Slam Track circuit last October, Arop is the lone Canadian among 48 racers committed to appearing at all four Slams – Miami (May 2-4), Philadelphia (May 30-June 1) and Los Angeles (June 27-29) are the others.
Arop has a 2023 world championship title in the men’s 800 and a silver medal in North American record time from Paris last summer.
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In the 3,000m event, Quebec City’s Charles Philibert-Thiboutot attempted to make a late push in the chase pack, but finished last with a time of 8:09.46.
The 34-year-old, who says he is retiring following this season, placed last among the eight finishers in the 5,000m race on Friday.
“I want this last [season] to be fun and competitive,” the two-time Olympian recently told CBC Sports. “If I run a couple of personal bests and get good results in a few races, I’ll be happy to hang up the spikes and have good memories of leaving the sport.”
