The reigning World Champion Marco Arop adds another silver to Canada’s tally at Paris 2024 as he finishes just one second short of the gold medal in the 800m. The Canadian 800m star finished with a time of 1:41.20 to set a new North American record, but missed the gold medal by just one second as Kenyan Emmanuel Wanyoni claimed the gold with a time of 1:41.19.
It was a hard-fought battle for Arop who opted for a tactical strategy by taking back spot till the first lap and then hitting hard yards in the end. While there can be much debate as to whether his strategy of opting back cost him gold but it resulted in him producing his best personal time and getting Canada their first medal in 800m since 1964.
Smashing records for silver 🥈
— CBC Olympics (@CBCOlympics) August 10, 2024
Canada’s Marco Arop wins silver in the men’s 800m while trimming off more than a second and a half from his Canadian record 🇨🇦#MedalMoments presented by @petrocanada pic.twitter.com/qP6A2EmbG9
“I wanted that gold medal so bad, but like I said, I couldn’t have asked for a better race,” Arop said to National Post
“In that moment, you just try to focus on your cues, you know, you try to stay technical, try not to fall apart, and I did everything I could,” Arop said of the chase. “You know, it’s not the first time we’ve had a finish like that, Wanyonyi and I, and every single time it seems like he just has that edge right at the finish.”
Paris 2024 Win Stamps Kenya’s Dominance
After winning the World Championship last year, Marco Arop entered the Olympics as the hot favorite for the gold medal. Moreover, experts and fans predicted that he would end the 16-year dominating streak by Kenya, who has been winning gold at the 800m since the 2008 Olympics.
In 2008, Wilfred Bungei won the gold medal, followed by David Rudisha in 2012 and 2016, while Emmanuel Korir won last time in Tokyo. As Paris 2024 approached, Emmanuel Wanyoni had the additional burden of taking the legacy forward and beating Arop, who had beaten him the previous time.
Emmanuel Wanyoni spoke to National Post about the pressure to beat Arop at Paris 2024:
“Arop beat me last year because of experience,” said Wanyonyi, an Olympic rookie who is still getting his feet wet at the international level. “You come from the back, then you beat me the last 200 meters. So, this time I tell Arop, nobody can beat me times two. So, you need to work hard. If you feel to beat me times two, you really need to work hard.”
As much as Marco would’ve liked to have won gold, he can be proud of what he accomplished. He did not only win silver, but he also broke the Northern American record and ended a drought for Canada that had existed since the 1964 Olympics.
