Tristan Woodfine of Canada hits Olympic standard in individual-best time at the London Marathon

Later, Montreal native Brent Lacatos won the men’s wheelchair race at 1:46:04 with his 2018 Berlin Marathon victory.

A year ago, Woodfine finished second to Canadian men 2:13:16 pb at the Toronto Waterfront Marathon, a two-minute drop from his previous best of 2:15:19 just nine months before the Houston Marathon in January. 2019.

The former triathlete was excited to see how he would perform in London after a strenuous summer training session that included four or five quality long runs of 30-40 km on a 1.8 km flat loop course near his home in the Ottawa Valley.

“I think he’s going to surprise some people,” Canadian record holder Cam Lewins said in an interview with CBC Sports about Woodfine after training together in Kenya earlier this year. “If he was in shape similar to what he is in Kenya, he would do wonderfully.”

Sunday’s men’s elite-only race closed off from the public around St James’ Park in central London in a 2.15-kilometer loop in a “safe biosphere” or bubble, replacing the traditional tour of city streets due to the coronavirus epidemic. On the way to the iconic finish at the mall in front of Buckingham Palace, runners completed 19 laps, 1,345 meters, and 45,000 people from more than 100 countries took part in the virtual marathon.

Ethiopia’s Shura Kitata wins the sprint

Adding 5,000 and 10,000 meters of track work in addition to his summer training, Woodfine made the slow-type marathon exercises “more relaxed and easier”.

“[London] “It could be the fastest running marathon course of my career, so I’m glad I had it,” the 27-year-old told CBC Sports. I was able to hit the Times and the pace I had never hit before. Anytime I do exercises like this for my Toronto structure I run very fast, so I take a lot of confidence out of it. “

Ethiopia’s Shura Kitata finished Sunday’s four-year victory over Eliad Kipchoge at 2:05:41, Kenya’s Vincent Kipchumba at the end of the sprint 1-100 seconds, while Ethiopia’s Cise Lemma finished third at 2:05:45. Kenya’s world record holder Kipchoz finished eighth at 2:06:49.

In the non-Canadian women’s race, Brigid Kosge of Kenya entered the final lap and retained his title, turning off the clock at 2:18:58 in cold and wet conditions.

See | Kitata, Kosgi summarizes men’s and women’s races in London:

Lewins, who was found running late in Sunday’s race, dropped out of his third marathon before the end. The Black Creek, BC, native is 12 to 35 kilometers away and completed the 5-100th second on his 2:09:25 national mark from his marathon in 2018 at the Toronto event.

The 31-year-old, who has not yet reached Olympic standards, increased his training for London in late August – 12 to 18 weeks to build a typical marathon – yet “get ready quickly with the right day.”

Lewins did not enter the 40th London Marathon until August 23, two days after running the 1:02:12 Half Marathon on Time Trial on an unconfirmed flat course on his island of Savvy near his home in Portland, Ore. His 1:02:14 PB is set for January 19 in Houston.

Trevor Hofbour, a native of Calgary, is the only Canadian man to earn a place in Tokyo after winning an automatic berth as the top Canadian in the men’s race at the Toronto Waterfront Marathon last year.

The new racing wheelchair pays instant dividends

Lacatos, who lives 140 kilometers northwest of London in Longborough, England, finished 12th in the London Marathon last year, so testing the University of Texas Engineering Grad Racing wheelchair designed earlier this year is huge.

In 2019, the 40-year-old Montreal native won two gold medals and a silver at the World Para Athletics Championships. In all, Lacatos won 18 WPA medals, including 13 gold.

Lakotos, a seven-time Paralympic medalist, hopes to compete in the fifth Summer Games in Tokyo.

In June, 11-time World Champion Athletics Canada was named Para-Athlete of the Year.

Sarah Hall achieved a rare American feat

Meanwhile, Sarah Hall became the first American woman to finish on the podium after Dinah Caster won the London Marathon in 2006, finishing second in the individual-best 2:22:01, world champion Ruth Chepngetich (2:22:05) Kenya, with her meters remaining .

The 26-year-old Kosgei, who holds the world record, comfortably won his duel with world champion Chepangetich. Kosge headed home with 11 kilometers left to leave Chepangetich, who looked strong in the middle stages of the race.

“The weather was not good so we worked hard,” Kosge said. “I struggled until the moment I was done.

“We are not well prepared due to the epidemic. I will be ready for better results next year.”