Marco Arop keeps runners guessing with 800-metre dominance since Olympic letdown

Marco Arop doesn't have a big story to tell from his Olympic debut. He didn't lead the field from start to finish and win gold or a medal of any colour. He didn't even qualify for the men's 800-metre final, yet he has never been more of a threat to the competition at any time in his brief running career.

Following mixed results in Tokyo — leading wire to wire to win his heat but fading badly after leading a semifinal race and failing to advance — Arop and his coach changed tactics for the Canadian athlete's return to the Diamond League pro track and field circuit.

A traditional front-runner, Arop was last in the field of eight at the bell lap with 400 metres remaining at the Prefontaine Classic on Aug. 21 but made a move on the outside with 300 metres remaining, took the lead before the straightway and won in one minute 44.51 seconds.

Five days later, Arop grabbed the lead on the first lap in Lausanne, Switzerland, opened about a four-metre advantage at 500 metres and held off Tokyo Olympic champion Emmanuel Korir of Kenya for the victory in 1:44.50.

"You cannot go to battle with the same weapon and using the same strategies you always use against your opponents because they'll be able to figure you out and counter strike," Chris Woods, the head track and field coach at

llianz Memorial Van Damme meet in Brussels to rest and prepare for the Sept. 9 Diamond League Final in Zurich.

Kate Van Buskirk was the lone Canadian representative in Belgium as a pacer of the women's 5,000 metres, won by Francine Niyonsaba in a Burundi record 14 minutes 25.34 seconds. Earlier this week, Van Buskirk had her luggage stolen on a train ride to Belgium from France.

. "Marco knows how his body feels and that'll dictate how we run the race. If he sees or feels something that would be counter-productive to our plan, he has the right to change something.