Canada’s Marco Arop secured the second position in the men’s 800-meter final at the World Athletics Ultimate Championship held in Budapest on Sunday. Despite leading the pack during the final lap, the athlete from Edmonton could not maintain his position to clinch the victory. Arop, a three-time world championship medalist with one gold and two bronze medals, as well as the 2024 Olympic silver medalist, finished the race in 1:42.28, settling for the second spot after qualifying sixth for the eight-man final.
Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati displayed a remarkable burst of speed in the final stretch, surpassing Arop to claim the championship title with a time of 1:41.91.
In the upcoming 200-meter finals, athletes Andre De Grasse and Aaron Brown advanced to the men’s final. They will compete against Olympic 200m champion Letsile Tebogo from Botswana and two-time Olympic 200m silver medalist Kenny Bednarek from the United States. On the women’s side, Olympic champion Gabby Thomas from the United States will face compatriot Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, who recently won the 100m title.
Unlike traditional competitions like the Olympics and world championships, the ultimate championship does not award medals. Instead, athletes vie for a portion of a $10 million prize pool, with each event winner receiving $150,000.
Other notable results from Day 3 of the championship include American Jasmine Jones winning the women’s 400m hurdles with a season-best time of 52.45, Brazilian Alison dos Santos clocking sub-46 seconds to claim victory in the men’s 400m hurdles with a time of 45.98, Ethiopia’s Likina Amebaw securing the women’s 5,000m title in 14:30.36, and Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Pathirage launching a massive javelin throw of 91.09 meters to emerge as the men’s javelin champion.
