PHILADELPHIA — 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.
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.
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.
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."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 31, 2025.
The Canadian Press
