Budding friendship with teammate has Marco Arop 'reinvigorated' entering Grand Slam Track
Canadian Olympic 800m silver medallist also eager to race world's top 1,500m runners
After Olympic disappointment in 2021, a motivated Marco Arop redeemed himself with a 2023 world championship title in the men's 800 metres and a silver medal in North American record time at the Paris Olympics last summer.
With talk the Canadian runner is happier at practice and having better quality workouts, thanks in part to a budding friendship with new teammate Isaiah Jewett, it could spell more trouble for opposing runners.
"The relationship they have been building has reinvigorated Marco," Arop's coach Chris Woods told CBC Sports ahead of this week's first Grand Slam Track event in Kingston, Jamaica, where the Edmonton athlete will race for a $100,000 US top prize in the 800 and 1,500.
"He's enjoying training, the [presence of Jewett]. He's coming to practice and getting pushed in areas he had not [been] before.
"Isaiah has a low 45 [second personal best] in the 400. Marco had not trained with someone that much faster than him [in] foot speed," continued Woods. "I'm praying it's beneficial in the long run."
Jewett was a 2021 NCAA champion in the 800 and made his Olympic debut later that year in Tokyo, where he cooled down with Arop after they failed to advance from their respective semifinals. They also talked about training together, but it didn't go further.
"They both have the goal of getting back to Tokyo," Woods said in reference to this year's World Athletics Championships from Sept. 13-21. "Now we can have this huge triumph together."
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The coach noted Jewett, 28, has brought a playfulness to workouts in Starkville, Mass., which can be stressful with athletes thinking of having to stay healthy, train and race at a high level to make ends meet.
"He brings a level of lightness and it seems Marco is enjoying his time at practice," said Woods, head coach at Mississippi State. "He's enjoying his craft, enjoying the journey but taking it extremely serious."
Live streaming of Grand Slam Track from Kingston, Jamaica is available at CBCSports.ca and CBC Gem starting Friday at 6 p.m. ET. Coverage continues Saturday at 6 p.m. and concludes Sunday at 3 p.m.
On Saturday, the 26-year-old Arop will run the third 1,500 of his career at 7:50 p.m. ET against "racers" Cole Hocker of the United States, British middle-distance runner Josh Kerr and American Yared Nuguse — the Olympic gold, silver and bronze medallists last Aug. 6 in Paris. The 800 goes Sunday at 4:39 p.m.
"Running has always been about finding that next gear. … It's about constant growth and seeing where my training can take me," Arop told Grand Slam Track last fall. "I'm incredibly excited to get this thing going."
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Hocker, Kerr and Nuguse boast a PB under three minutes 28 seconds while Arop has a 3:38.36 best from the 2023 Florida Relays. Four months ago, he told U.S. online sports magazine Citius Mag he'll run 3:30 "at some point."
"That's my expectation," Woods said. "If we believe we can win [in Kingston], we must also believe that we can run under 3:30.
"Marco has great race instincts, no matter the distance. That's where I have confidence in his ability to compete with and challenge those [Olympic medallists]. He ran a half marathon [on Dec. 15 in Huntsville, Ala.], ran it well and won [in one hour 11 minutes 15 seconds]."
Arop joined GST last October and is the lone Canadian among 48 racers committed to appearing at all four Slams – Miami (May 2-4), Philadelphia (May 30-June 1) and Los Angeles (June 27-29) are the others.
Arop 1-hundredth of a second from Olympic gold
Kenya's Emmanuel Wanyonyi, American Bryce Hoppel, Neil Gourley of Scotland and Mohamed Attaoui — who was born in Morocco and represents Spain internationally — are the "challengers" in the short distance (800/1,500) group. Chosen based on recent performances, they will be paid an appearance fee for each Slam they run in.
At the Paris Olympics, Arop clocked 1:41.20 and Wanyonyi held on for gold, beating Arop by 1-100th of a second. Twelve days later, Wanyonyi held off Arop down the stretch, this time with a more sizeable margin, winning in 1:41.11 at a Diamond League event in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Woods cautioned fans to not underestimate Arop, the competitor, in Jamaica.
"He's going to try to win, period," Woods said. "I think Marco's going to shock some people because of his skillset, his will and belief in himself that he can compete with anybody at any distance as long as we're prepared.
"Marco signed up to be a racer, not a challenger, because he wants to race the best over and over. He doesn't shy away from that. People like that are dangerous."
Philibert-Thiboutot retiring after season
Meanwhile, Quebec City's Charles Philibert-Thiboutot anticipates Kingston will be his only Grand Slam Track competition and told CBC Sports he will be retiring from competitive running at the end of the season.
"When I was in Paris [at the Olympics] I had this feeling I did absolutely everything I could to be the best runner I could be," said the 34-year-old two-time Olympian. "I feel in my body, to get better, it's increasingly difficult whereas guys I'm racing against that are 25, 26, 27, they improve by leaps.
"I want this last [season] to be fun and competitive. If I run a couple of personal bests and get good results in a few races, I'll be happy to hang up the spikes and have good memories of leaving the sport."
A week ago, Philibert-Thiboutot was confirmed as a substitute challenger for the longer distance (3,000/5,000) race group. The men's 5,000 is scheduled for Friday at 7:56 p.m., with the 3,000 on Sunday at 4:49 p.m.
The Canadian will battle Calgary-born Grant Fisher from Michigan — a 2024 Olympic bronze medallist in the 5,000 and 10,000 — along with and Ethiopia's Hagos Gebrhiwet, who ran the second-fastest 5,000 in history last May in 12:36.72.
"I think I can run against the best in the world in the [3,000]," said Philibert-Thiboutot, who held the Canadian record of 7:35.73 for 49 days last summer. "I still need more experience in the 5K. Racing in the [Jamaican] heat can be difficult for me.
"I gotta try to use my 1,500-metre speed to my advantage. If the race is strategic, maybe I can try to surprise in the sprint."
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