Canada's Arop just misses podium position at Diamond League Final

The Olympic champion is the defending champion here in Monaco at the Diamond League final. He set the world 1000 record in Monaco, was tired after it but back in winning form more recently in Lausanne and Zurich. There is Marco Aroba, if he can get the pacing right here, he's perfectly capable of beating Wanyonyi the Kenyan. The big Canadian was world champion back in 2023. He used to go to the 6th, Jamel Sejati, Bulgarian Mediterranean Games champion just on Monday. Twice the world championship silver medalist, super consistent is Sejati and in fine form with a good run, not only at the Mediterranean Games but second in Zurich in 1.41 behind Wanyonyi. Lane 4 shared by Gabriel Toal, very competitive, small errors costly in the 800m these days. Very disappointed not to make the final European championship. Toal and Ben Paterson sharing that fourth lane with him, the bronze medalist in the world championship back in 2023. Needs to be near the front with 200 to go, Ben Paterson leaves himself too much to do over the last 200 in recent races. Slimane Mula of Algeria, 5th in the last in the world championships twice. He's in great form, 3rd in Stockholm a few weeks back, 3rd in Rabat at the beginning of the season and 3rd in Zurich last week. Tobias Kronstadt of Norway, semi-finalist of the European championships but huge improvements from the Norwegian this year. He was 4th in Oslo, improving by almost a second at his home meeting. Yanis Medzian, 3rd in the French championships, semi-finalist of the European championships, goes on the inside. Ran 1.44.0 in his semi-final at the European championships in Birmingham. Wasn't good enough to get him into the final, in fact he was only 6th in his semi. So, Wanyonyi in the purple, 3rd from right. Now, if the pacemaker Vukovic could go out here at 49.5 and the rest of them could follow through not much slower than, say, 50 points, then we could be up for something special here. It looks to me like Arof is going out a little bit more cautiously as a tall figure there in the purple, second to right now as we've seen him head into the back straight than he did, for example, in Lausanne a couple of weeks back when he went out suicidally quick, he was about 49.1 at 400 there and he was chased down and ended up in 4th place. But this is interesting, Wanyonyi there in the tautine behind Vukovic, the pacemaker. Arof watching him this time, very, very different tactics here from Arof's team as they approach the bell. Yeah, really interesting, Wanyonyi saying, all right, chase me. And that would be Sejati much further up than he tends to be as well, so I think this is going to be a great last 200 here. Wanyonyi's going to have to be incredibly strong because they're going to be trying to charge off that decent first lap there, not too quick for the ones behind him. Well, we know Wanyonyi is strong, that incredible world record over 1,000, two and a half laps in Monaco a few weeks back is still one of the great high points of the season. Glancing up at the big screen to gauge what's going on behind him, Arof not gauging his effort here according to Wanyonyi, but the Kenyan goes into the last 200 with about a three-meter lead. Sejati in third place, he's got a big kick. I don't think anybody's going to get Wanyonyi now as Arof looks a little tired here, maybe a little stale as he comes into the straight. Wanyonyi doesn't know what's going on behind him, he doesn't care. Sejati coming back at him, that's a six-meter win, 1.41. It's so close to the world's leading time this year, 1.41.76. He did that himself when he ran in Zurich last week. Wanyonyi from Sejati, that's the 1.23 in the 800 meters. Brilliant run from Mezian there, 1.42.9 from Mezian. That is a big personal best from him, the biggest and big chunk of almost a second of Mezian, the Frenchman's personal best with that third-place run. But Sejati's team, he always finishes like a rocket, but he just feels he's a little bit too far off the lead to give himself a chance of winning these big races. Yeah, the rumours were, I think it was in Lausanne, it was Sejati who asked for a really fast pace and it was Arof who went with it. Sejati did run very well there, too far back tonight. And Wanyonyi backs himself. You know, Tim, I'm loving his consistency now. I was having a look tonight, his top ten average times, his average of his top ten best times is 1.41.6. He hasn't done that any damage here tonight either with another 1.41.8, a meeting record. To think he's done ten races where his average is 1.41.6. I mean, even the great Radiccio and the brilliant runners we've had couldn't talk about that sort of stat. And he's done it again here tonight. Brilliant from Mezian, not a French record because Toal, who's in this race, wrote 1.42, didn't he? That was last year, the year before. But, yes, just too good, just too good for everybody. Top form now. Whatever he was having, any little issues early on in the season, all gone, really is at his very best. And that world record, one day, it will one day be his. Don't know when, but it will be. That is his fourth consecutive win at the Diamond League final. He is a machine, is Wanyonyi, the Olympic champion from Paris.