Latest news with #CamLevins
CBC
an hour ago
- Sport
- CBC
Linkletter runs to 1st Canadian title, beating 3-time defending champ Levins in half marathon
Rory Linkletter took Cam Levins's Canadian half marathon crown, and now he's aiming for his national record in the marathon. The Calgary-born Linkletter edged Levins of Black Creek, B.C., at the line on Sunday in Edmonton, collecting his first-ever Canadian title with a one-hour three-minute half marathon. Levins, the national record holder in the distance who had prevailed at each of the previous three national half marathon championships in Winnipeg, finished one second behind. Ben Preisner of Milton, Ont., reaching the finish in 1:03:15. "[The] sprint finish was electric," Linkletter told Canadian Running of Sunday's race. "I knew Cam was gonna fight tooth and nail for it, and he delivered a lot of punches over the final 2 [kilometres] to test me. "It felt like a great fight and I'm proud to have won this one. It means more winning against good competition." Linkletter, who now lives in Flagstaff, Ariz., hadn't raced Levins since last Aug. 10 in the Olympic marathon in Paris, where Levins placed 36th (2:11:56), 11 spots ahead of Linkletter (2:13:09). That race fuelled his determination to become the best marathoner he can be by the 2028 Olympics in Los for Linkletter is targeting Levins's 2:05:36 Canadian mark at the Oct. 12 Chicago Marathon rather than compete at the Sept. 13-21 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. Linkletter narrowly missed his first Canadian title May 25, finishing second to Albert Korir of Kenya in the Ottawa Marathon. A month earlier, the 28-year-old Linkletter went 2:07:02 for sixth in Boston, a 59-second personal best and fastest time by a Canadian at the event that put him second on the Canadian all-time list. Linkletter began his Boston build running two races at the 21.1 km distance over six days — in Marugame, Japan, where he ran a 1:00:57 PB on Feb. 2, and Mesa, Ariz. Chicago, where the late Kelvin Kiptum set the men's world record of 2:00:35 two years ago, is a flat and fast course. The men's field includes six athletes who have broken 2:04. In Sunday's women's half marathon, British runner Lauren McNeil, who lives and trains in Kelowan, was victorious in 1:11:25 over defending champion Natasha Wodak (1:11:40) who lives in North Vancouver. Helping hand Meanwhile, fellow road racer Ben Flanagan of Kitchener, Ont., continues to recover from a partially torn labrum in his left hip joint. He was unable to be a full participant in the 53rd annual Falmouth Road Race on Sunday near his home in Bourne, Mass, but the 30-year-old did run. Flanagan started at the back of the pack and helped raise $24,264 US, collecting $1 for each of the 8,088 runners he passed for the local J-Rob Foundation, a not-for-profit committed to providing adaptive sporting equipment to children with physical disabilities or challenges. Falmouth Road Race Inc.'s donation was matched, dollar-for-dollar, by Cutter Financial Services and a silent donor. Last week, Flanagan set a goal of about 5,000 runners passed for the day, and expressed he was happy to help young athletes in need. "It's a cool way to race in a different experience, and to interact with all of the people," he told the Bourne Enterprise newspaper. "I just have to run smart and not try to over-do it." Flanagan had planned to run about a six-minute pace, about 90 seconds slower than his usual one-mile pace. He won the men's elite race in his 2018 debut and back-to-back in 2021 and 2022. He was third last year. Flanagan's wife, Hannah, grew up in Falmouth and her father has served as FRR president in recent years. Flanagan made his Olympic debut last summer on the track over 5,000 metres and will make his marathon debut
CBC
26-05-2025
- Sport
- CBC
Canada's Linkletter narrowly close to winning his 1st-ever marathon, placing 2nd in Ottawa
The Ottawa Marathon nearly went according to plan for Rory Linkletter. The Calgary-born runner, who wanted his first-ever victory in the distance to occur on home soil, finished second on Sunday morning in two hours eight minutes 31 seconds. Linkletter charged late in the 42.2-kilometre event and could see the back of leader Albert Korir over the final metres before reaching the finish nine seconds behind the Kenyan, who broke the tape in 2:08:22 and also won the 2019 Ottawa race. Korir, who missed the Boston Marathon a month ago with an ankle injury, was third (2:08:00) in the New York City Marathon last November, while Linkletter was nearly four minutes behind him in 15th. The 28-year-old Linkletter went 2:07:02 for sixth in Boston, a 59-second personal best and fastest time by a Canadian at the event. He also ran 2:08:01 on Feb. 18, 2024 to automatically qualify for the Paris Olympics. Linkletter was 47th in his Summer Games debut last summer, a race that fuelled his determination to become the best marathoner he can be by the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. Linkletter will try to lower the Canadian record in the fall rather than compete at the Sept. 13-21 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. Cam Levins of Black Creek, B.C., holds that title after running a North American record 2:05:36 in the 2023 Tokyo Marathon. Linkletter's next race will be a half marathon at the Aug. 17 Edmonton Marathon, where he's "excited" to perform in front of family. Comeau top Canadian in women's marathon Tristan Woodfine of Cobden, Ont. near Ottawa, was seventh on Sunday in 2:13:21 while fellow Canadians Blair Morgan (2:19:36) and Arnaud Francioni (2:23:07) were ninth and 10th. Mercy Chelangat of Kenya won the women's marathon in 2:23:33, with Anne Marie Comeau of Saint-Ferréol-les-Neiges, Que., grabbing top Canadian honours with a fourth-place finish (2:33:10). Meanwhile, a day after winning his first Ottawa 10K in Canadian record time, Quebec City's Charles Philibert-Thiboutot said it was "one of the best racing experiences of my career." The 34-year-old broke away from Levins in the ninth kilometre and finished in a personal-best 28 minutes six seconds on a chilly Saturday night to lower Ben Flanagan's national mark from last year by three seconds. "It felt amazing to have things fall in place — good weather, fast pace, fitness — and give an effort that produced a win and record," Philibert-Thiboutot told CBC Sports. [It] was a true reflection of the work put in [since] March." The two-time Olympian, who's in his final season of competitive racing, was coming off a sixth-place finish (28:51) in the Vancouver Sun Run on April 27. Levins was second (28:23) in that race following a fast start. "I was expecting the same type of strategy," Philibert-Thiboutot said of Levins, the Canadian record holder in the men's half marathon and marathon. "However, this time my fitness was much better. "Things turned around for me in Flagstaff [Ariz.] during training camp the last few weeks and I was confident I could challenge him for most of the race. He is to be credited for my record as he [pushed] the pace for 8K before I took over." Larkin upends defending women's 10K champ Elmore Philibert-Thiboutot will return to the track June 7 and run the 5,000 metres at the FAST5000 World Athletics Continental Tour Challenger event. From there, he will enter 1,500m races in hopes of qualifying in the distance for the world championships. New dad Flanagan of Kitchener, Ont., had planned to defend his Ottawa 10K title but was forced to withdraw due to a hip/quad flare up. In the women's race, Gracelyn Larkin, who was running only her second road 10K, posted a come-from-behind victory over early leader and 2024 champion Malindi Elmore. Larkin, 24, stopped the clock in 32:43 while the 45-year-old Elmore reached the finish in 33:01. The Kelowna, B.C., resident was hoping to run faster than last year's 32:50 winning time as a "benchmark performance" as she prepares to enter a 10th marathon build for her world championship debut. "On the one hand I'm really pleased that there is some up-and-coming talent that's 20 years younger than me," Elmore, who held a 12-second lead on Larkin midway through the race, told Race Results Weekly. "Because, you know, we need a new generation ready to shine. But, it's always a little disappointing because I wanted to win today." Hamilton's Erin Mawhinney was third in 33:09, while Lanni Marchant of London, Ont. and Toronto's Rachel Hannah were fifth (33:28) and sixth (33:38). Natasha Wodak, who won in 2023, withdrew on Wednesday with lower-body soreness, stating in an Instagram post she had "maybe" one good workout the past month. "I couldn't get through my workout on Wednesday," said the Canadian record holder in the women's marathon. "My glute is still not great. My quad is lighting up. My hamstring doesn't feel good.
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Race Weekend: Ottawa 10K produces champions and a record time
Charles Philibert-Thiboutot and Gracelyn Larkin claimed Canadian road racing championships in the Ottawa 10K on Saturday evening. Philibert-Thiboutot, a 34-year-old from Quebec City, was clocked in 28 minutes six seconds, which would be a new Canadian record for a 10-kilometre road race. The previous record (28:09) was set last year in Ottawa by Kitchener's Ben Flanagan, who was unable to defend his title this time because of injury. Cam Levins of Black Creek, B.C., was also close to Flanagan's record with his second-place clocking of 28:14, just three seconds ahead of Toronto's Andrew Alexander. Larkin, from Rosseau, Ont., crossed the finish line first among women in the highlight event of Day 1 of Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend, her time of 32:43 leaving the 24-year-old athlete 18 seconds ahead of last year's winner, Malindi Elmore of Kelowna, B.C. Erin Mawhinney of Hamilton placed third among women in 33:09. Here are photos from Saturday's race.
CBC
14-05-2025
- Sport
- CBC
Marathoners headline initial Canadian squad for World Athletics Championships in Tokyo
Athletics Canada unveiled its marathon team for this year's World Athletics Championships — three men, three women — but its top qualifier is skipping the event to attempt a national record in the fall. Rory Linkletter, who ran the Boston Marathon in two hours seven minutes two seconds last month, wants to lower that personal best to 2:05 or 2:06 in the next year or two. That wouldn't happen in the men's world marathon on Sept. 15, the Calgary-born runner said, as the Tokyo heat would make it less conducive to achieving a fast time. "I'd like to go for the Canadian record in the fall instead," Linkletter told CBC Sports, rhyming off the potential options of Chicago, The Marathon Project in Chandler, Ariz., and Valencia, Spain. The 2:05:36 national mark is held by Cam Levins, who was added to the Canadian team in Linkletter's place, along with 2024 Olympian Ben Preisner and 2024 Canadian marathon champion Justin Kent. None of the Canadians ran the 2:06:30 entry standard to automatically qualify for worlds. Linkletter was 40th in the world rankings quota among the top 100 to be selected, followed by Preisner (65th) and Kent (67th). Levins was outside the top 100 but the next highest Canadian. On the women's side, Canadian record holder Natasha Wodak, two-time Olympian Malindi Elmore and longtime distance runner Leslie Sexton were also named to the Sept. 13-21 event. They, too, didn't run the 2:23:30 qualifying standard and ranked 56th, 67th and 70th, respectively. The eight-member team also includes four-time Olympian Moh Ahmed in the 10,000 metres and world record race walker Evan Dunfee. Recently, Levins told CBC Sports he was undecided about racing at worlds or a major marathon – Sydney is Aug. 31 followed by Berlin (Sept. 21) and Chicago (Oct. 12). Levins ran 'best road 10K' in Vancouver Levins was the top Canadian over 10 km at the Vancouver Sun Run last month, clocking 28:23 — or 12 seconds off his PB — and will race at the Ottawa 10K with Preisner on May 24. "I think it was probably my best road 10K performance I've put forth, even though it's not my personal best," the 36-year-old told CBC Sports. "I'm feeling good and looking to race more." After last year's 2:11:56 performance at the Paris Olympics, Levins spent much of his time recovering from an Achilles tendon issue and figured the start of another Olympic cycle was a good time to reset. "The Achilles had been a nuisance in training for a couple of years. It's fantastic [now] and [my] body is feeling great in general," he said. For Preisner, Tokyo will represent his third world championship marathon after racing in 2022 (Eugene, Ore.) and 2023 (Budapest, Hungary). The Milton, Ont., native clocked 2:10:32 in Osaka, Japan on Feb. 24. "It's always an honour to compete at the world championships," said the 29-year-old Vancouver resident, who has a 2:08:58 PB. "Getting back to competing with the world's best has been on my mind since missing out on the Paris Games [last summer] so I'm excited to put in the work this summer and prove to myself that I belong." Preisner will also run the Vancouver Half Marathon June 22 before entering a training block for worlds. Kent, from Burnaby, B.C., continues to improve at age 34. On March 30, he lowered his PB by nearly three minutes, winning the McKirdy Micro Marathon in Rockland, N.Y. His 2:09:29 clocking is the sixth-fastest time ever by a Canadian. Ahmed, also, 34, has left the past two world championships without a medal from the track in the 5,000 and 10,000 after earning 2019 bronze in the former event in Doha, Qatar. The 2021 Olympic 5,000m silver medallist is slowly transitioning to road racing and was forced to withdraw from a half marathon in New York City in March due to back spasms and adductor issues suffered in his final workout. Dunfee set Canadian race walk mark at 2023 worlds Dunfee set the world record in the 35 km race walk in March, posting a time of 2:21:40, surpassing the previous record by seven seconds. At the 2023 worlds, he was fourth in the men's 20 km and 35 km races, running a Canadian record in the former (1:18:03) that he has since lowered to 1:17:39. "This will be my seventh world championship representing Canada and the program continues to build towards one of the top athletics nations in the world," Dunfee told Athletics Canada. "Japan fully embraces the endurance events so we know the crowds will be lining the streets to cheer us on. This for me is maybe one of the first times I'm heading into a global championship as a favourite. … I am looking forward to taking on this new challenge." Athletics Canada said additional athletes may be added in the 10,000 and 35 km race walk when the remainder of Canada's team is announced Aug. 28. "The group that we selected [Tuesday has] a lot of experience. We're looking for them to … [be] prepared to go after personal bests, season's bests, top-eight 8 finishes and even the [medal] podium," Athletics Canada head coach Glenroy Gilbert said in a statement. Wodak, 43, and Elmore, 45, will battle in Tokyo after facing each other in the Ottawa 10K later this month. Wodak, who was 15th in the 2023 women's world marathon, will return to Japan after placing 13th among women in the 2021 Olympic marathon in Sapporo. Elmore is coming off a 2:26:05 effort on Dec. 1 in Valencia, where she finished 17th. Sexton of Markham, Ont., made her national team debut at the 2022 worlds and a stubborn, never-give up-mentality led to a better-than-expected 13th-place finish (2:28:52). Last October, was second (2:33:15) in the Canadian standings at the Toronto Waterfront Marathon.
