TOKYO - Canada’s Macro Arop left nothing to chance as he raced into the men’s 800-metre final at the world athletics championships.

Arop won his semifinal in a photo finish Thursday, overcoming wet conditions at Japan National Stadium.

The 26-year-old from Edmonton, who entered the world championships ranked second in the world, moved to the front of the pack and controlled the race early before holding off Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati. Both runners finished with a time of one minute 45.09 seconds to book a spot in Saturday’s final.

Arop’s performance Thursday should build confidence after he finished third in his heat Tuesday and narrowly qualified for the semifinals.

Meanwhile, Canada’s sprinting hopes at the world athletics championships lie in the competition-ending 4x100-metre relay a

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