Canada's Arop chasing another national title ahead of world championships

Marco Arop has never felt better.

The Olympic silver medallist in the 800 metres is among those set to compete at the Canadian track and field championships in Ottawa, which run Wednesday to Sunday. The Edmonton native will look to build on a strong season ahead of the world championships in September in Tokyo.

"I'm confident that I'm in the best shape of my life right now, and I'm excited to prove it," the reigning world champion said.

"Usually, we have our world championships or Olympics, and we still have more competitions following. So to end the season on a high note, I'd love to make the world final.

"Of course, it falls on my birthday this year, so that would be a cool way to celebrate my birthday. To run the world final and hopefully defend my title. So those are the things that I'm most excited about."

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The 26-year-old said he aims to improve one per cent each year. He experimented with training at altitude and had an increase in mileage-based days, allowing him to be stronger with his endurance.

"You don't get those kind of races normally throughout the year," he said. "It's usually either at like national championships or world championships or the Olympics."

Since then, he ran a season-best time of one minute 42.22 seconds while finishing second at a Diamond League meet in London on July 19.

His personal best of 1:41.20, also a national record and fourth all time, came in his silver-medal effort in Paris last year — an experience he says gave him a major confidence boost.

"I do feel like I've gained confidence following last year," Arop said. "I think during 2023 I had probably the