Canadian Cam Levins never lost his confidence. And after nearly four frustrating years of disappointing results, retirements and the loss of a sponsor, Levins wrote a remarkable story on Sunday when he broke his own Canadian record to claim a historic fourth place finish in the event. marathon of the World Athletics Championships.
“I’m delighted, of course. I’m over the moon,” Levins said.
The 33-year-old British Columbian completed the distance in two hours, seven minutes, nine seconds (2:07:09), lowering the Canadian mark of 2:09:25 he set in Toronto by more than two minutes. , in 2018.
The best Canadian result at the Worlds was achieved by Peter Maher, 10e in 1993.
Ethiopian Tairat Tola escaped in the final kilometer to claim gold in 2:05:36. His compatriot Mosinet Geremew followed him in 2:06:44. Belgian Bashir Abdi took the bronze medal in 2:06:48.
In 2018, in his marathon debut, Levins accomplished what had eluded Canadian marathoners for decades. He had beaten Jerome Drayton’s record, which had stood for 43 years.
The future looked rosy.
But Levins failed three times to meet the Olympic qualifying standard for Tokyo, before reaching it a week early. At the Olympics, he slipped to the 72e place, under the very high temperature in Sapporo.
Levins’ services have not been retained in 2022 by HOKA, his team since 2018. And he has no sponsor.
He wrote on social media that he was seeking redemption in Eugene, Oregon. And he showed what he was capable of.
“It was crazy to go from the last places in the standings at the Olympics to the first places at the Worlds,” said Levins. I took so much from the Games last year and just realized that I had to be better in all aspects of my training. »
“I’ve really had an incredible rise in the last six months. I trained really well, hard, in every way imaginable,” added Levins, who recently won the half marathon at the Canadian Championships. When I got to the start line, I knew I was ready. »
But the marathon is difficult to predict. Anything can happen in the last 10 kilometers, no matter how well prepared the athletes are, Levins noted.
“I felt very good during the race, but despite everything, it’s very hard on the legs and it’s difficult to maintain the rhythm,” he explained. I felt very good, but the last 10 kilometers were difficult. When I was about to start the last lap, I told myself that I was here to win a medal and that I was here to put on a big performance. »
Levins held on to a strong group up front. Tola broke away during the last kilometers.
“I tried to prepare for this moment for a long time,” Tola said. It was my dream. »
Runners were able to pick up the pace due to a comfortable 13.9 degrees Celsius and cloudy skies. It was quite a contrast to the climatic conditions at the World Championships in Doha, where the men’s marathon was held at midnight to avoid the scorching heat. The temperature was still around 29 degrees Celsius.
Levins switched to the marathon after a track career. He won bronze in the 10,000m at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and placed 11e at 10,000m and 14e in the 5000m at the 2012 London Olympics, despite contracting the flu before the final.
On Sunday, Rory Linkletter of Calgary finished 20e in a personal best 2:10:24, while Ben Preisner of Milton, Ont., took 28e rank in 2:11:47.
“I think our three Canadians raced very, very well today,” said Levins. We’re just in kind of an incredible marathon era, and I’m happy to have my name up there with some of the best. I hope I still have a long career ahead of me and that was just the tip of the iceberg. »
A silver medal for Camryn Rogers
Later in the day, Canada’s Camryn Rogers won silver in the women’s hammer throw event.
On her third attempt of the day, Rogers sent the object 75.52 meters, which propelled her to the first rung. American Brooke Andersen, however, took control of the event with a throw of 77.42 meters on her fourth attempt.
Andersen eventually improved his mark on his next two attempts, getting his best result on the sixth throw, which landed 78.96 yards from the tee.
Jillian Weir, the other Canadian to take part in the event, finished in fifth place.
In the men’s 10,000m, Canadian Mohammed Ahmed took sixth place after clocking 27:30.27.