While talk between Grand Slam Track events could shift to Marco Arop’s continued pursuit of David Rudisha’s 800-metre world record, he remains focused on the opportunity to develop another skillset racing the 1,500.
Arop was sixth in a field of eight in the distance on Saturday, posting a time of three minutes 39.65 seconds in Kingston, Jamaica, not far off his 3:38.36 personal best from the 2023 Florida Relays. The Edmonton native went 3:40.81 at the same competition a year ago.
Kenya’s Emmanuel Wanyonyi, who won Olympic 800 gold last summer, held off the 1,500 medallists from the Paris Games — Cole Hocker, Josh Kerr and Yared Nuguse — down the final straight and clocked 3:35.18 to capture Saturday’s race. Nuguse (3:35.36) and Hocker (3:35.52) were second and third.
“Grand Slam Track is only going to help Marco racing those calibre of [1,500m] runners four times throughout the year,” Arop’s coach Chris Woods told CBC Sports before the inaugural competition. “The 1,500 is a completely untapped skillset we don’t necessarily have and now we get to sharpen those tools against the best in the world.”
On Sunday, Arop faced the same athletes in the 800 and led wire-to-wire, clocking 1:45.13, ahead of runner-up Wanyonyi (1:46.44).
Arop joined the Grand Slam Track circuit last October and 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.
WATCH |Â Wanyonyi wins Grand Slam Track 1,500m, Arop 6th:
Kenya’s Emmanuel Wanyonyi finishes first in the men’s 1,500-metre short distance race at the Grand Slam Track stop in Kingston, Jamaica. Edmonton’s Marco Arop, the reigning 800-metre world champion, places sixth.
Talk of Rudisha’s seemingly untouchable world mark of 1:40.91Â in the 800 only grew louder when Arop ran a 1:41.20 personal best to finish second behind Wanyonyi in the Olympic final by 1-100th of a second last Aug. 10. He also set the North American record and moved to fourth on the all-time list.
Running one minute 39 seconds is Arop’s mission and has been called “Project 99” by the athlete and his team.
Arop’s consistency in his race times has been a better indicator to Woods than the runner’s Olympic performance that he is closing in on Rudisha’s record.
The Canadian middle-distance runner ran 1:41.72 in Lausanne, Switzerland 12 days after the Olympic final and a meet record 1:41.86 three days later at a Diamond League meet in Chorzów, Poland.
“He ran his fastest time in the third round of the Olympic Games,” Woods said, “and that’s important to get faster throughout the rounds.”
WATCH | Arop runs away with 800m title at Grand Slam Track in Jamaica:
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.
The top priority, noted the coach, is winning medals.
After the Grand Slam Track competition in L.A., Arop is hopeful of competing at a few Diamond League meets before defending his 800 title at the Sept. 13-21 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.
“Project 99 is a passion project for us,” Woods said. “I don’t want us to get so caught up in trying to break the world record that we lose sight of defending the world championship title, getting to L.A. in 2028 [for the Olympics] with intentions of winning it and redeeming ourselves from Paris.
“Four years [of waiting] is a long time to get a hundredth of a second back. As long as we keep [medals] the main thing, Project 99 will take care of itself.”
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Four-time Olympic champion Michael Johnson is the man behind the new professional track league.
Since Arop attended an altitude training camp last November, his ability to recover from interval run workouts and workout sessions at sea level has been quicker than previous years, according to Woods.
“He adapted well to [running at an altitude between 6,600 and 7,000 feet]. It’ll be interesting if we can fit it in our training schedule prior to the [L.A. Olympics],” said the coach.
“Some of the things [Arop] can do aerobically and anaerobically and still recover is impressive. He’s a once-in-a-lifetime athlete.”
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