How experience, patience, race execution could lead Canadian runner Marco Arop to world title repeat

Chris Woods says Marco Arop is among the greatest 800-metre runners of all-time and can repeat as men's champion next week at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.

The coach's ongoing challenge is to convince his Canadian athlete and the national record holder of this belief.

"There are special people that are generational that can close their eyes and don't believe when they're shooting the ball at the basket it's going to go in, but it goes in," Woods said on a Zoom call this week before joining Arop in Japan.

"Marco knows what he's capable of, for sure. I still think that he can surprise himself. I believe he has something in him, and it's not that he believes it isn't there but he's like, 'Not me, right?' He can't believe he possesses [a certain level] of talent.

"He's a truly, truly special person and truly, truly special athlete," continued the head track and field coach at Mississippi State University. "If he saw his ability the way I do, he would 100 per cent be the world champion."

Of course, there are other factors in the Edmonton native's pursuit of a world title, which will contested around 9:30 a.m. ET on Sept. 20 at Japan National Stadium. 

Remaining healthy through the heats, semifinal and final will be paramount, but Arop must race smart, tactically and to win, along with being patient before making an in-race move on his competitors.

Woods believes Arop, a 2025 Olympic silver medallist, five-time Canadian champ and one of the country's stronger medal hopes in Tokyo, is most successful when drawing from his experience.

"Experience will indicate to him when needs to make specific [in-race] moves," the coach said. "He may need to do one thing [in the heats] and a completely different thing in the