At the start of 2024, no one would have dared to predict that David Rudisha’s iconic 800m world record of 1:40.91, set at the 2012 London Olympics, was under threat. Heading into this season, 18 of the 20 fastest times in history had been run before 2013, and no athlete had broken the 1:42.00 barrier since Rudisha’s legendary race at London 2012. Yet, just nine months into the 2024 season, the 800m landscape has completely shifted. Five athletes have dipped under the 1:42 mark, and have come within two-tenths of a second of Rudisha’s record. The question is no longer whether the record will fall, but when.
Leading this charge is Edmonton’s Marco Arop, who recently clocked a national record of 1:41.20 at the 2024 Olympic Games. The time, which would have won him gold at nearly every Olympic Games (except two), earned him a silver medal. Arop was just one hundredth of a second behind Kenya’s Emmanuel Wanyonyi, who crossed the line in 1:41.19 for gold.
Arop’s performance in the Olympic 800m final was nothing short of spectacular. He shaved an astounding 1.6 seconds off his previous personal best—a remarkable achievement at the world-class level, where even the smallest improvements can make the difference between gold, silver and bronze.
The 25-year-old is confident that his best races are still ahead of him. “I think we’re definitely capable of breaking the record, either this year or next,” Arop told Canadian Running in an interview. “The world record has been in the back of my mind for a long time, and I want to go after it before it’s too late.”
When asked about the factors driving these lightning-fast times, Arop pointed to several key elements. “I think the spikes, the track, and the fact that so many 800m athletes are in their prime play a big role,” he explained. He’s right—of the eight men in the Paris Olympic final, the oldest was just 26, and the average age was 23.8, making it the youngest final among all men’s track events at the 2024 Games.
Arop also pointed out the growing use of the Maurten bicarbonate supplement among his competitors. This supplement, designed to enhance an athlete’s endurance, primarily consists of sodium bicarbonate (baking soda), which helps buffer lactic acid in muscles during high-intensity exercise. High-profile athletes like Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen, Great Britain’s Keely Hodgkinson and Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge have all endorsed its benefits.
Arop revealed he began incorporating the bicarbonate supplement into his training just weeks before the 2024 Olympics. “Everyone else was using it, so I tried it, and it worked wonders,” he said.
The 2024 season isn’t over yet, and Arop will have one more shot at the world record at the Diamond League final in Brussels on Sept. 13 and 14. The men’s 800m Diamond League final, set for Sunday, will likely feature a showdown between the three Olympic medallists—Arop, Wanyonyi and Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati. With the Diamond League trophy and a top prize of USD $30,000 on the line, the stage is set for a race that could rewrite the record books.
