Canada’s Marco Arop secured a second-place finish in the men’s 800-meter final at the World Athletics Ultimate Championship held in Budapest. Despite initially leading in the final lap, Arop could not maintain his position, ultimately crossing the finish line in 1:42.28 to claim the runner-up spot. Having qualified sixth for the final, Arop was overtaken by Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati, who surged ahead with a strong final kick to clinch the title in 1:41.91.
Moving forward, both Andre De Grasse and Aaron Brown advanced to the men’s 200m final. They will compete against renowned sprinters such as Olympic 200m champion Letsile Tebogo of Botswana and back-to-back Olympic 200m silver medalist Kenny Bednarek from the U.S. In the women’s 200m final, American Olympic champion Gabby Thomas will go head-to-head with compatriot Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, the winner of the 100m race.
Unlike traditional championships, the World Athletics Ultimate Championship does not award medals; instead, athletes vie for a piece of the $10 million US prize pool, with event winners taking home $150,000 each.
In other results from Day 3, American Jasmine Jones triumphed in the women’s 400m hurdles with a season-best time of 52.45. Brazilian Alison dos Santos set a new record in the men’s 400m hurdles, finishing in 45.98 seconds. Ethiopia’s Likina Amebaw clinched the women’s 5,000m title in 14:30.36, while Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Pathirage claimed victory in the men’s javelin with a massive throw of 91.09 meters.