Assuming the lead 50 metres into the race, John Gregorek Jr. strung out the field with William Paulson next in line. Gregorek took them through a 43.7 first 300, while José Carlos Villarreal worked his way into the third position in line. They remained in that position through the next lap at 1:44.2. Through the penultimate lap, Federico Bruno moved forward, poking into the lead at the bell in 2:45.1. Through the turn, Gregorek held him to the outside, a little jostling, then Bruno accelerated into the lead. Paulson followed Bruno and accelerated into a 3-metre lead down the backstretch as Bruno strained and Gregorek moved back into second place. Gregorek slowly gained to be in position to sprint past Paulson coming off the turn, executing his move and pulling away from Paulson. However, halfway through the turn, Villarreal launched into a sprint to get around Bruno. He kept his sprint going after the leaders. By the time he caught them, he was in a different gear and was no match, going on to take the win by 4 metres. This kind of kick is not a surprise to YouTubers. Running as Carlos Villarreal from the University of Arizona, he executed the same kick in a viral Video on YouTube.
Records
Prior to this competition, the existing world and Pan American Games records were as follows:
