Brandon McBride of Windsor, Ontario set the Canadian record in the men’s 800m on Friday. McBride posted a time of 1:43.2 seconds at the International Association of Athletics Federation Herculis Grand Prix event in Monaco. Even though the event was not a Diamond League scoring event, it was a very strong field.
McBride finished in second place in the competition. Nijel Amos of Botswana won the race with a time of 1:42.14. Saul Ordonez of Spain won the bronze medal with a time of 1:43.65. Like McBride, Ordonez set a national record.
McBride reached the podium by 0.62 seconds. Cornelius Tuwei of Kenya finished in fourth place with a time of 1:43.82.
The old Canadian record was set by Gary Reed of Kamloops, British Columbia. Interestingly, Reed also set the Canadian record at the Herculis Grand Prix event in Monaco. Reed posted a time of 1:43.68 on July 29, 2008. McBride’s previous best was 1:43.95 at the London, Great Britain Diamond League event on July 22, 2016.
The only runner to beat McBride in Monaco on Friday has a strong resume. Amos won the silver medal in the men’s 800m at the 2012 Olympic Games in London and has won the gold medal in the men’s 800m at the 2013 Summer Universiade in Kazan and the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
