Canada's Marco Arop edged in men's 800m final, finishes 2nd at Ultimate Championship

Canada's Marco Arop edged in men's 800m final, finishes 2nd at Ultimate Championship

Americans Bednarek, Jefferson-Wooden complete the 100-200 double

Canada’s Marco Arop finished second in Sunday’s men’s 800-metre final at the World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest.

Despite creating a gap on the field during the final lap, the Edmonton native was unable to hold on for the win. The three-time world championship medallist — with one gold and two bronze — and 2024 Olympic silver medallist crossed the line in 1:42.28 to settle for second.

Arop had qualified sixth overall for the eight-man final.

Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati delivered an exceptional final kick to surge past Arop and claim the title in 1:41.91.

Marco Arop finishes 2nd in the 800m at World Athletics Ultimate Championship

Bednarek, Jefferson-Wooden doubles down

Americans Kenny Bednarek and Melissa Jefferson-Wooden are now double Ultimate champions, sweeping the 100m and 200m titles to complete the sprint double.

Bednarek, a back-to-back Olympic 200m silver medallist, won the men’s 200m final on Sunday in a world-leading 19.52. Canada’s Andre De Grasse finished fifth in 19.92, while Aaron Brown took seventh in 20.23.

Andre De Grasse finishes 5th in 200m at Ultimate Championship, Bednarek wins again

Jefferson-Wooden, who won the women’s 100m title yesterday, takes the 200m title in a world-leading 21.47.

Unlike the Olympics and world championships, no medals are awarded at the ultimate championship. Instead, athletes are competing for a share of a $10-million US prize pool, with each event winner earning $150,000.

Melissa Jefferson-Wooden gets the Ultimate Championship double, adding the 200m crown to her 100m win

Kerr takes title after unforgettable season

Josh Kerr added the Ultimate Championship to his unforgettable season Sunday, grabbing the lead on the last lap and winning the 1,500 meters in 3 minutes, 29.35 seconds.

Kerr adds the $150,000 first prize to the titles he won at world indoors in the 3,000 meters and the Commonwealth Games in the mile, along with the 27-year-old world record he broke earlier this summer, also in the mile.

Australia's Cameron Myers finished second, .33 seconds behind.

Olympic champion Cole Hocker, part of an ongoing drama in this event, finished fourth with a season-best time of 3:30.74. Kerr's biggest rival, Jakob Ingebrigtsen, won the 5,000 on opening night but withdrew from the shorter race the next day, saying his fitness wasn't good enough for two races in the wake of Achilles surgery earlier this year.

Kerr, who focused on the mile this season and extended his year by six weeks simply to run in Budapest, said he'd win no matter who was in the field. After hanging on the outside in the middle of the pack for most of the first three laps, he made his move and nobody was going to catch him.

— American Jasmine Jones secured another win for the U.S. in the women’s 400m hurdles, clocking a season-best 52.45.

— Brazilian world-record holder Alison dos Santos went sub-46 seconds to win the men’s 400m hurdles in 45.98.

— Ethiopia’s Likina Amebaw won the women’s 5,000m title in 14:30.36.

— Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Pathirage launched a massive throw of 91.09 metres in the men’s javelin to claim the title.

With files from The Associated Press' Eddie Pells