Canada's Marco Arop foxed his rivals with a radical change of tactics and then poured on the pace to win a brilliant 800 metres World Championship gold on Saturday.

Normally a front runner, he kept his huge frame out of the picture, right at the back, through the first lap and swept straight to the front at the bell and surged clear.

Arop, the bronze medallist last year, kept his foot down to win comfortably in 1:44.24. Kenya's Emmanuel Wanyonyi took silver in 1:44.53, while 21-year-old Ben Pattison of Britain claimed a surprise bronze in 1:44.83.

Addressing his change of tactics, Arop, who was born in Sudan and forced by the civil war to flee with his family of eight when he was two years old, said: "I was up late last night figuring different ways to win. One scenario was to kick from behind in the way I did. I guess it was worth staying up late."

Reuters