Canada's Linkletter narrowly close to winning his 1st-ever marathon, placing 2nd in Ottawa

Doug Harrison · CBC Sports

· Posted: May 25, 2025 7:52 PM EDT | Last Updated: 7 hours ago

The Ottawa Marathon astir went according to program for Rory Linkletter.

The Calgary-born runner, who wanted his first-ever triumph successful the region to hap connected location soil, finished 2nd connected Sunday greeting successful 2 hours 8 minutes 31 seconds.

Linkletter charged precocious successful the 42.2-kilometre lawsuit and could spot the backmost of person Albert Korir implicit the last metres earlier reaching the decorativeness 9 seconds down the Kenyan, who broke the portion successful 2:08:22 and besides won the 2019 Ottawa race.

Korir, who missed the Boston Marathon a period agone with an ankle injury, was 3rd (2:08:00) successful the New York City Marathon past November, portion Linkletter was astir 4 minutes down him successful 15th.

The 28-year-old Linkletter went 2:07:02 for sixth successful Boston, a 59-second idiosyncratic champion and fastest clip by a Canadian astatine the event. He besides ran 2:08:01 connected Feb. 18, 2024 to automatically suffice for the Paris Olympics.

Linkletter was 47th successful his Summer Games debut past summer, a contention that fuelled his determination to go the champion marathoner helium tin beryllium by the 2028 Olympics successful Los Angeles.

Linkletter volition effort to little the Canadian grounds successful the autumn alternatively than vie astatine the Sept. 13-21 World Athletics Championships successful Tokyo.

Cam Levins of Black Creek, B.C., holds that rubric aft moving a North American grounds 2:05:36 successful the 2023 Tokyo Marathon.

Linkletter's adjacent contention volition beryllium a fractional marathon astatine the Aug. 17 Edmonton Marathon, wherever he's "excited" to perform in beforehand of family.

Comeau apical Canadian successful women's marathon

Tristan Woodfine of Cobden, Ont. adjacent Ottawa, was seventh connected Sunday successful 2:13:21 portion chap 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 successful 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 time aft winning his archetypal Ottawa 10K successful Canadian grounds time, Quebec City's Charles Philibert-Thiboutot said it was "one of the champion racing experiences of my career."

The 34-year-old broke distant from Levins successful the ninth kilometre and finished successful a personal-best 28 minutes six seconds connected a chilly Saturday nighttime to little Ben Flanagan's nationalist people from past twelvemonth by 3 seconds.

"It felt astonishing to person things autumn successful spot — bully weather, accelerated pace, fittingness — and springiness an effort that produced a triumph and record," Philibert-Thiboutot told CBC Sports. [It] was a existent reflection of the enactment enactment successful [since] March."

The two-time Olympian, who's successful his last play of competitory racing, was coming disconnected a sixth-place decorativeness (28:51) successful the Vancouver Sun Run connected April 27. Levins was 2nd (28:23) successful that contention pursuing a fast start.

"I was expecting the aforesaid benignant of strategy," Philibert-Thiboutot said of Levins, the Canadian grounds holder successful the men's fractional marathon and marathon. "However, this clip my fittingness was overmuch better.

"Things turned astir for maine successful Flagstaff [Ariz.] during grooming campy the past fewer weeks and I was assured I could situation him for astir of the race. He is to beryllium credited for my grounds arsenic helium [pushed] the gait for 8K earlier I took over."

Larkin upends defending women's 10K champ Elmore

Philibert-Thiboutot volition instrumentality to the way June 7 and tally the 5,000 metres astatine the FAST5000 World Athletics Continental Tour Challenger event. From there, helium volition participate 1,500m races successful hopes of qualifying successful the region for the satellite championships.

New dada Flanagan of Kitchener, Ont., had planned to support his Ottawa 10K rubric but was forced to retreat owed to a hip/quad flare up.

In the women's race, Gracelyn Larkin, who was moving lone her 2nd roadworthy 10K, posted a come-from-behind triumph implicit aboriginal person and 2024 champion Malindi Elmore.

Larkin, 24, stopped the timepiece successful 32:43 portion the 45-year-old Elmore reached the decorativeness successful 33:01. The Kelowna, B.C., nonmigratory was hoping to tally faster than past year's 32:50 winning clip arsenic a "benchmark performance" arsenic she prepares to participate a 10th marathon physique for her satellite title debut.

"On the 1 manus I'm truly pleased that determination is immoderate up-and-coming endowment that's 20 years younger than me," Elmore, who held a 12-second pb connected Larkin midway done the race, told Race Results Weekly.  "Because, you know, we request a caller procreation acceptable to shine.  But, it's ever a small disappointing due to the fact that I wanted to triumph today."

Hamilton's Erin Mawhinney was 3rd successful 33:09, portion Lanni Marchant of London, Ont. and Toronto's Rachel Hannah were 5th (33:28) and sixth (33:38).

Natasha Wodak, who won successful 2023, withdrew connected Wednesday with lower-body soreness, stating successful an Instagram station she had "maybe" 1 bully workout the past month.

"I couldn't get done my workout connected Wednesday," said the Canadian grounds holder successful the women's marathon. "My glute is inactive not great. My quad is lighting up. My hamstring doesn't consciousness good.

"I'm looking astatine the large picture, which is competing [in the marathon] astatine the World [Athletics] Championships."