Latest news with #800m
CBC
a day ago
- Business
- CBC
Canada's Arop wins 800m for third straight time at Grand Slam Track event
Social Sharing Canada's Marco Arop crossed the finish line in one minute 43.48 seconds to win the men's 800 metres in Grand Slam Track action on Saturday at Franklin Field in Philadelphia. The Edmonton native, who won world championship gold in 2023 and Olympic silver in 2024 in the 800, has won all three 800-metre Grand Slam races. He will compete in the 1,500 on Sunday. WATCH | Canada's Marco Arop wins 800m at Grand Slam Track Philadelphia in dominant fashion: Canada's Marco Arop wins 800m at Grand Slam Track Philadelphia in dominant fashion 2 hours ago Duration 5:04 Bednarek wins 200m Toronto's Aaron Brown placed third with a time of 20.50 seconds, just a hair behind Great Britain's Zharnel Hughes (20.50) in the men's 200. Andre De Grasse of Markham, Ont., clocked in at 20.58 seconds to finish fourth. American Kenny Bednarek, the 2024 Olympic silver medallist in the 200, won the event in 19.95 seconds. They will all compete in the 100 on Sunday. WATCH | American Bednarek wins Grand Slam Track Philadelphia 200m, Canada's Brown 3rd and De Grasse 4th: American Bednarek wins Grand Slam Track Philadelphia 200m, Canada's Brown 3rd and De Grasse 4th 1 hour ago Duration 5:15 Grand Slam Track was started by American track and field legend Michael Johnson, with this being its inaugural season. The first event was in Kingston, Jamaica, the second in Miami, and the fourth and last one will be in Los Angeles June 27-29. All competitors have to compete in two events and are split into categories — short sprints (100, 200), long sprints (200, 400), short hurdles (100 hurdles for women, 110 hurdles for men, 100 for both), long hurdles (400 hurdles, 400), short distance (800, 1,500), long distance (3,000, 5,000) — with a points sytem in place. Winners get 12 points, second place gets eight points, third gets six points, fourth gets five points, fifth gets four points, sixth gets three points, seventh gets two points and eighth gets one point. The athlete with the most points after competing in both races from each category is named the "Slam Champion" for their race group. The overall season leader in points for each race group will be recognized as "Racer of the Year."
Independent Singapore
2 days ago
- General
- Independent Singapore
Singapore's Thiruben Thana Rajan successfully breaks 800m record at the Asian Athletics Championships after 38 years
SOUTH KOREA: The long-standing national record for the men's 800-m event at the Asian Athletics Championships was broken after 38 years by Singaporean athlete Thiruben Thana Rajan with a final time of 1:49.94. In Gumi, South Korea, the athlete's historic performance defeated the record set by Sinnathambi Pandian at the 7th Asian Track and Field Championships in 1987. With his achievement, the 24-year-old athlete expressed: 'Everything fell into place for me today and I achieved exactly what I set out to do, which was to break the national record and be the first Singaporean under 1:50.' He added: 'I'm proud of the fearless race I ran, pushing aggressively from the start.' In a social media post by Rajan using Singapore Athletics' account, the athlete proudly shared his historical win with a caption: 'NATIONAL RECORD 🇸🇬 … As many in the athletics community know, I've been managing the Singapore Athletics social media pages since 2023 as part of my full-time role overseeing marketing and sponsorships for the association…. After writing countless national record posts for my Team Singapore teammates over the past two years, it's a surreal feeling to finally be writing one… for myself.' He added: 'Today (30 May 2025), at the Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, South Korea, I clocked 1:49.94 in the 800 Heats. This timing broke the long-standing Men's 800m National Record of 1:50.56 set by S. Pandian in 1987. I also became the first Singaporean ever to dip below 1:50 in the two-lap event. S. Surendra had also previously run a hand-timed 1:49.9 in 1983… My previous best was 1:51.28, set just a month ago at the Singapore Open.' 'I am very appreciative and grateful to my coaches Khairyll Amri and Hamkah Afik and to my training group at @ for being in my corner every step of the way… Let's keep going.' Netizens expressed their support to the young athlete in the comments section by saying: 'Well done, Thiruben ! You have gone through some valleys and came out stronger! We are immensely proud of you!', 'Solid guy. Hard work paying off bro', and 'Congratulations 👏👏👏👏' See also 2026 Tour de France to begin with a team time trial in Barcelona Rajan's transition from 400 m to 800 m Rajan admitted that he began training with his current coaches, Khairyll Amri and Hamkah Afik, a year ago, when he also had decided to transition from 400 m to 800 m. He is confident that he can beat the world record and declared: 'I've always had the belief that I am capable of taking down this record. This is certainly not the end goal for me, as this first year in the event was all about recovering from past injuries and getting used to the two laps again.' He also stated that he is excited to train and improve his skills for the SEA Games in December.
CNA
3 days ago
- General
- CNA
Singapore's Thiruben breaks 38-year-old 800m national record at Asian Athletics Championships
The 24-year-old said that he had almost exactly a year ago started working with his current coaches, Khairyll Amri and Hamkah Afik and made the decision to switch from the 400m to the 800m. "I've always had the belief that I am capable of taking down this record. This is certainly not the end goal for me, as this first year in the event was all about recovering from past injuries and getting used to the two laps again," he said. "I'm excited to ramp up my training and improve a lot more by SEA Games in December." Earlier in the day, Singapore sprint queen Shanti Pereira finished second overall and first in her heat to book her spot in the women's 200m final on Saturday. Pereira is the defending champion in the event.
CBC
5 days ago
- Health
- CBC
Marco Arop's coach hails world champion runner as 'once-in-a-lifetime athlete,' marvels at fast recovery time
Social Sharing Years before Marco Arop ran 800 metres to a 2023 world championship gold medal and Olympic silver the next year, he was a 400-metre sprinter and could be spotted red-lining, or pushing his body to its maximum effort, during high school workouts in Edmonton. But he had zero sense of pace. "If coach gave me three 400m [intervals] I would go all-out in the first one and struggle through the next two," Arop recalled during a break in training while preparing to race the 800 and 1,500 at Grand Slam Track this Saturday and Sunday in Philadelphia. Arop would eventually understand his limits that enabled him to push through pain. Most successful track and field athletes don't shy away from the pain of training, but Arop understands the pain pushes him a step closer to his ultimate goals, according to his coach. "It means he's determined and committed to the craft, and he is not going to let anything get in his way," said Chris Woods, who has worked with Arop since becoming head track and field coach at Mississippi State University in 2019. The 26-year-old Arop can buffer lactic acid, or hurt longer and more, than anyone Woods has seen in 12 years at MSU. Canada's Marco Arop wins 800m at Grand Slam Track Miami 25 days ago Duration 6:33 Edmonton's Marco Arop, the reigning 800-metre world champion, captures his straight Grand Slam Track victory in his signature event. Great Britain's Josh Kerr claims the men's short distance title at the Grand Slam Track stop in Miramar, Fla., and Arop finishes second overall. Woods, who began coaching at the U.S. collegiate level in 2009, has guided several track standouts, including four-time Canadian 800m champion Brandon McBride, but none like Arop. Grand Slam Track changes schedule for Philadelphia event Marco Arop wins 800m at Grand Slam Track stop in Florida "He's a once-in-a-lifetime athlete. The way Marco can recover between fast, long and hard intervals, I've never seen anything like it," Woods told CBC Sports. "My best educated guess is it's genetics and his upbringing." 48-second 400m run To illustrate his point, Woods cited one of Arop's recent workouts at MSU. It consisted of broken runs of 700m (500/200), 600m (400/200) and 500m (300/200) that included a 48-second run in the 400. "For me, that's just another day at the track," Arop told Toronto sprinter Aaron Brown and two-time Canadian Olympic hurdler Perdita Felicien for CBC Sports' Trackside show. "This [was] the first race pace workout [I've] done this year. I'm used to seeing those times in training, but it's cool to see the reactions [from others]. "To run [one minute 41 seconds over 800 metres], and potentially faster, [I] have to be able to run fast paces on short recovery." "In the middle of that workout," Woods told CBC Sports, "he was running paces that would add up to a 1:36 800m run. In no way am I suggesting he would cover 800 in that time. It just shows how long he can hold paces such as that with minimal rest." Talk of David Rudisha's seemingly untouchable 1:40.91 world record only grew louder when Arop ran a 1:41.20 personal best in the Olympic final last Aug. 10 to finish 1-100th of a second behind Kenya's Emmanuel Wanyonyi in Paris. "It's been a goal of mine since I started running. That was the first race I watched before I did my first high school 800," Arop told Brown and Felicien. "Watching David Rudisha run that world record inspired me to get to that level. Now that I'm knocking on the door, it's really cool and a testament to all the work that's been put in. I got to give a lot of credit to my coaches because without their belief, I don't think I would be near where I am now. "To get to 1:39," continued Arop, "that's going to be another level, so that's the next step." Marco Arop: 'Only a matter of time', before he breaks 800m world record 1 day ago Duration 6:28 1,500m to test fatigue in legs In Philadelphia, Arop will aim for his first Slam title in three attempts after his combined point totals from the 800 and 1,500 placed him second in the short distance group in Jamaica last month and Miami on May 3. After racing the 1,500 first at those events, the 800 will be contested first on Saturday at 4:57 p.m. ET, followed by the 1,500 Sunday at 5:01 p.m. "That will be a new experience," said Arop, who has raced on back-to-back days in his career but not in different distances. "I'm confident in my ability to race the 800 with fatigue in my legs. I'm not sure what the 1,500 is going to feel like [fatigue-wise]." Arop, who is using the Slam competitions as training for various aspects of his races, believes racing the 1,500 helps him stay consistent and deliver better finishes in the 800. "I'm probably the strongest I've been [in my career]. My early [season] fitness is the best I've seen and [I'm] touching on the speed work now [in training] so I'm excited where it's going to take me," he said. Added Woods: "Running the 1,500, in theory, will make him a more well-rounded middle-distance athlete. By the end of the season, I believe fans will see a middle-distance athlete that's in the lower 1:40s in the 800m and the lower 3:30s, if not 3:20s, in the 1,500. "He'll be a very dangerous runner when that happens." The final stop of the Grand Slam Track season is June 27-29 in Los Angeles. Arop will race there before joining the Diamond League professional track and field circuit. He is scheduled to race in Monaco (July 11) London (July 19) and possibly Lausanne, Switzerland (Aug. 20).
Independent Singapore
15-05-2025
- Sport
- Independent Singapore
‘Nerve-wracking' return awaits Keely Hodgkinson after injury setback
Keely Hodgkinson admitted that she's feeling nervous ahead of her return to her sport, calling her upcoming race a 'nerve-wracking one.' Hodgkinson, the Olympic 800m gold medallist, will be competing in her first competition since her win at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The 23-year-old athlete had to put her season on hold due to a hamstring injury earlier this year. Despite the challenges, she is now preparing to compete at the Diamond League event in Stockholm on June 15. 'I feel out of practice in a way, because by the time I do race, it will be 10 months. But it's nothing we haven't coped with before. It will be a challenge, the first race will be a nerve-wracking one, because in my last race, I literally became Olympic champion. But I'm excited for it,' Hodgkinson admitted to BBC Sport. The women's 800m race in the said event would be highly competitive as it features all eight of the top-ranked athletes in the world, including British runners Georgia Hunter-Bell and Jemma Reekie. Moreover, Ethiopia's Tsige Duguma and Kenya's Mary Moraa, who won silver and bronze in the 800m at the 2024 Paris Olympics, are also participating in the race. The athlete added, 'When I saw the line-up, it was the perfect motivation that I needed for the next six weeks. Having not competed in so long, it almost seems so far away.' Now I've got that extra motivator of who is going to be there. It is going to be a hard race, we want to come out on top, so we're working really hard towards that and the races to follow after that.' 'It's not going to be easy, it never is, but I'm looking forward to it,' she noted. Hodgkinson's injury Hodgkinson gained an injury back in February during her final training session ahead of the Keely Klassic, a new athletics event in Birmingham and which she founded herself. She said that recovering from the injury required lots of her time and patience, and she reassured her fans that her recovery is going well. The athlete's main goal this season is to successfully win a gold medal at the World Championships in Tokyo this September. Adding to this, she also hopes to break the one-minute 54-second barrier in the 800m. 'It's going to be hard in Tokyo, everyone is going to step it up as they do every year, the standard just gets higher and higher… We're pushing the limits, we want to break the 1:54 barrier, hopefully this year, we'll see,' Hodgkinson declared. 'But the main aim would be to win gold, and whatever [time] that comes with would be amazing. Titles last forever,' she added.
