Chris Woods’ Mississippi State school record in the 800 meters has been bested several times since the current Bulldogs head coach was a senior in 2008. But Woods is more than happy to help MSU’s current standard-bearer in the event get ready to compete on the world’s biggest stage.
Marco Arop currently holds the program record in the 800 — both indoors and outdoors — and finished second in the event at the NCAA Championships in 2018 and 2019. The Canadian may have failed to qualify for the final at the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo, but Arop is on his way to Paris for the 2024 Games coming off a world championship last year, and seems like a good bet to win the Bulldogs’ first Olympic medal since 2000.
“Everywhere I go and compete, I know I’m representing more than just myself,” Arop said. “I’ve had so much help along the way, and being an athlete at Mississippi State has made me the athlete I am today. I’m forever grateful for my experience, and it’s always good to be able to show that wherever I go, I’m a Mississippi State alum.”
Born in Sudan, Arop escaped the war-torn country with his family and lived in Egypt for a time before emigrating to Canada, settling in Edmonton, Alberta. Primarily a basketball player for most of his youth, Arop did not even join his high school track team until senior year but quickly pivoted from there, turning professional after a seventh-place finish in the 800 at the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Qatar.
Ever since his arrival at MSU, Woods — now an assistant coach for Team Canada track and field — has been by Arop’s side. Woods said Arop not qualifying for the 800 final in Tokyo was a “devastating blow” for both of them, but they met again shortly thereafter and made promises to each other about how Woods would help Arop prepare for big meets going forward.
“Marco is one of those guys, when he walks into the room, whatever he does, he’s special at it,” Woods said. “It could be playing tic-tac-toe, when he walks in the room, he just has an aura about him that you know he’s going to be one of the best guys. That’s something I picked up on in the recruiting process, and then just to see his development over the course of time, it’s been really incredible.”
Arop began to build his profile back up at the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, Oregon, where he won a bronze medal, becoming just the second Canadian to medal in the 800. The following year, he became the first man from Canada to win a world championship in Budapest, Hungary.
Racing against Arop in Paris will be another former Bulldog, Navasky Anderson of Jamaica. Coming from a nation renowned for producing world-class sprinters, Anderson idolized the legendary Usain Bolt, but after realizing he was better at longer races, he also looked up to David Rudisha, a Kenyan who set the world record in the 800 at the 2012 Olympics in London.
Arop was the perfect pace-setter for Anderson at MSU, and the two trained together every day under Woods even though they were never officially teammates.
“(Woods) would tell me, ‘Don’t look at your stopwatch, don’t think about the time that you’re running,’” Anderson said. “My job was to make sure I was able to touch Marco on his back at all times. No matter where he was at, I should be able to reach out if I’m running behind him and able to touch him. That’s the only job (Woods) gave me.”
Anderson’s roommate for the 2022-23 school year was Lee Eppie, then a redshirt sophomore from Botswana who is also heading to Paris for the 4×400-meter relay. Botswana won that relay in May at the World Athletics Relays in the Bahamas after Team USA was disqualified in the heats.
Eppie is coming off a silver medal in the 400 at the 2024 African Championships, setting a personal record with a time of 45.39 seconds. With the Bulldogs, he was part of four out of the five fastest 4×400 relay teams in school history.
“When (Anderson and I) came into the season, our goal was to make sure that both of us were in Paris,” Eppie said. “The fact that we both made it, it means a lot to me. Somebody that I was staying with, we always made sure we pushed each other at practice. He always made sure I would do things the right way; I did the same thing too.”
Not to be outdone, MSU also has two Olympians in the javelin, which has long been a signature event for the Bulldogs. Curtis Thompson (United States) and Anderson Peters (Grenada) both made their second Olympic team this year.
The track and field events will take place in the second half of the Olympics, with the men’s javelin qualifying scheduled for Aug. 6 and the finals on Aug. 8. Arop and Anderson will compete in the first round for the 800 on Aug. 7, with the semifinals on Aug. 9 and the finals on the 10th. Eppie and Team Botswana have the qualifying rounds for the 4×400 relay on Aug. 9, with the finals taking place the next day.
“I just see myself as a stepping stone for those kids to go from high school to college and then from college to the professional ranks,” Woods said. “Those guys had amazing training partners in their teammates while they were at Mississippi State. It’s just really flattering to see all the hard work, not just from the individuals who made the Games, but also from the individuals who helped those guys make it to the Olympic Games.”
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 45 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
