(Budapest) Canadian Marco Arop won gold in the 800 meters at the World Athletics Championships on Saturday.
The Edmonton athlete prevailed in 1:44.24, ahead of Kenya’s Emmanuel Wanyonyi (1:44.53) and England’s Ben Pattison (1:44.83).
In the decathlon, Canadians Pierce LePage and Damian Warner are in first and third place, heading into the final two events.
LePage, of Whitby, Ont., leads with 7,477 points before the javelin throw and the 1,500 metres.
Warner of London has 7,260 points behind Leo Neugebauer of Germany’s 7,282.
LePage earned silver at the 2022 Worlds, where a back thigh injury forced Warner to retire in the fifth event (the 400m), while he was in charge.
Warner is the reigning Olympic champion in the decathlon.
Sarah Mitton of Brooklyn, Nova Scotia reached the shot put final, clocking 19.37 metres.
In the women’s marathon, Amane Beriso Shankule led an Ethiopia double.
Shankule clocked 2 hours, 24 minutes and 23 seconds on the streets of Budapest, beating defending champion Gotytom Gebreslase, a teammate, by 11 seconds.
Fatima Ezzahra Gardadi, of Morocco, won the bronze in 2:25.17.
Shankule, 31, said the Ethiopian team worked together to make it difficult for the rest of the runners.
“Once we got rid of the others, it was a battle with my tough teammates,” Shankule said. Gebreslase is strong and she wanted to defend her title. »
Of the 77 athletes at the start, 65 reached the finish, in a race where the temperature soared to 29 degrees Celsius.
Shankule began to pull away from his compatriots late in the game.
“The main goal was to bring back the gold. I am proud that we [the Ethiopians] retain the title,” Gebreslase said.
Gebreslase set a World Championship record 2:18:11 in cooler conditions last summer in Eugene, Oregon.
Canadians Natasha Wodak and Sasha Gollish finished 15th and 61st.
They are from Surrey, British Columbia and Toronto, respectively.
In the evening, Noah Lyles, winner of the 200 meters, could be back on the track to run last for the United States, in the 4×100 relay.
Faith Kipyegon of Kenya will be looking to add a 5,000 meters title to her 1,500 meters crown won earlier at worlds.
In addition, Swedish pole vaulter Mondo Duplantis is expected to defend his title.
