Marco Arop extends streak with 800m victory at Xiamen Diamond League season opener

Marco Arop saw an immediate payoff after cutting short his indoor track season to transition to hill work and increase his mileage ahead of the outdoor campaign.

The Edmonton middle-distance runner didn't set his third Canadian record of 2024 but extended his individual win streak to four on Saturday, leading the men's 800 metres from start to finish season and posting a world-leading time of one minute 43.61 seconds at the Diamond League season opener in Xiamen, China.

But not long after Arop's achievement, Emmanuel Wanyonyi of Kenya grabbed the world lead, winning in 1:43.57 at the Kip Keino Classic World Continental Tour Gold meet in Nairobi, Kenya.

After his race, Arop noted the time is strong early in an Olympic year. It was his fastest season opener after going 1:46.34 at the Rabat Diamond League a year ago in Morocco and 1:49.51 and 1:44.76 in each of the previous two years.

"I think it has everything to do with the environment and stadium," Arop said when asked what attributed to a fast time in China. "I came here last year and ran a [then-1:43.24] personal best. "I knew if I stuck to the pace I was going to run fast again.

"Today felt more like a time trial to see how fast I could run. It's [my] first [outdoor 800] race of the year so I wasn't sure what shape I was in but it's good to see now," said Arop, smiling.

WATCH | Arop grabs early lead on way to season-opening 800m victory in China:

Wyclife Kinyamal of Kenya made a valiant attempt to pass Arop, cutting the Canadian's lead with 200 metres to go and further closing the gap down the final stretch but was edged at the finish, stopping the clock in 1:43.66. Tshepiso Masalela of Botswana was third in 1:43.88.

His teammate, Kethobogile Haingura, held the previous world lead of 1:43.94 while Wanyonyi maintained the meet record of 1:43.20 from last Sept. 2.

Arop, 25, ran to a pair of Canadian marks in the span of a week to open his indoor season in the 800 and 1,000, finishing 54-100ths of a second shy of the world record in the latter event on Feb. 4 in Boston.

"I want a couple of months of solid training before opening outdoors," he told CBC Sports at the time from Starkville, Miss., where he lives and trains. "I wasn't planning on chasing any times or records indoors. The main goal remains the Olympic Games and winning a medal [in Paris this summer]."

The reigning world champion has yet to appear in an Olympic final. He was seventh (1:44.90) in the semifinals three years ago in Tokyo, finishing 16-100ths of a second behind Kenya's Emmanuel Korir — the final qualifier for the final —and placed 14th overall in a field of 24.

WATCH | Arop captures 2023 world championship gold in Budapest, Hungary:

At the 2023 Diamond League Final, Arop lowered his personal best to 1:42.85, breaking Brandon McBride's 1:43:20 national mark from 2018 in a second-place finish.