On Sunday at the Canadian Half Marathon Championships, held as part of the 2024 Manitoba Marathon in Winnipeg, Vancouver’s Natasha Wodak found herself back on top of the podium after a challenging spring, beating a loaded women’s field in 1:12:56. On the men’s side, Canadian record holder Cam Levins won the race for the third consecutive year, in preparation for the Paris 2024 Olympic marathon.
Levins wins his third straight title
The race began in cool conditions (17 C) with 95 per cent humidity, making for slower-than-usual times on the typically fast and flat Winnipeg course. Levins’s winning time of 64:23 was his slowest of his three victories, but still enough to break the tape ahead of Vancouver’s Thomas Nobbs (66:15) and Winnipeg’s own Sam Vincent (66:55).
Last year, Levins set the course record of 61:41. “I know the course like the back of my hand now,” Levins said in a post-race interview with the Winnipeg Free Press. “It’s a real friendly atmosphere. I’m happy coming back year after year here.”
Levins is one of six Canadian athletes who received an early nomination to the Paris 2024 team. He will represent Team Canada in the men’s marathon alongside Calgary’s Rory Linkletter, aiming to contend for a medal. He was close to a medal in Eugene two years ago, where he finished fourth.
Wodak wins in Winnipeg
In a loaded women’s championship field featuring four Olympians, Wodak emerged victorious, finishing 13 seconds ahead of Malindi Elmore to win her first national title of 2024. “I surprised myself with a great race,” Wodak wrote on social media. “I didn’t think I was going to win, so I’m very happy about that.”
Wodak mentioned she came down with a cold the week before the race, leaving her uncertain about her performance. In a post-race interview with the Winnipeg Free Press, she said the win was the boost she needed after falling short of qualifying for the Paris Olympics earlier this spring.
Elmore, who will be the only Canadian woman competing in the Paris 2024 women’s marathon, secured second place in 1:13:09. Anne-Marie Comeau, a former Nordic skier for Team Canada from St-Ferréol-les-Neiges, Que., finished third in 1:15:20.
Like Levins, Elmore used the Canadian Half Marathon Championships as a preparation race for Paris. This will be her third Olympic Games. She first competed for Canada in Athens 2004 over 1,500m, then retired from professional running in 2012. She made a comeback in 2019 and qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Games in the women’s marathon, where she achieved a top-10 finish.
For full results from the Manitoba Marathon weekend, check here.
