Canada’s Rory Linkletter nails Olympic marathon standard in Spain

On Sunday morning at the Sevilla Marathon in Spain, Canada’s Rory Linkletter ran the fastest marathon of his career in 2:08:01, nine seconds under the men’s Olympic A standard of 2:08:10. “I’m thrilled,” Linkletter told Canadian Running post-race.

“I just went with the Olympic standard pace group, tried to conserve energy through 25-27K…then I raced,” Linkletter said of his strategy in Seville, where he finished 14th. “Had a couple of moments where I wasn’t sure if my body would make it, but I just tried to relax in those moments,” he added. “Didn’t know if I was going to do it until the final 50m!”

The Canadian-born marathoner, 27, who lives in Flagstaff, Ariz., has been working on his speed over the last few months with his coach, former U.S. marathoner Ryan Hall, with the Olympic standard as his goal. In early December, he became the 74th Canadian to run a sub-four-minute mile and only the second Canadian to accomplish the feat while also having run a sub-2:12 marathon; Linkletter joined marathon record holder Levins as the only other Canadian to do so.

Linkletter chose the Sevilla Marathon to give himself ample time to recover and prepare after his 18th-place (and top Canadian) finish in the marathon at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in late August. He is now the second-fastest Canadian marathoner behind Levins; his result in Spain is the third-fastest Canadian marathon time. Gearing up to Sevilla didn’t require much of a shift in training for Linkletter, as he “trusted that a good build and healthy body could do it.” He added, ” I have known that I’m much better than my personal best.”

In January, Linkletter ran the Houston Half Marathon, checking off another PB in 61:02 (his previous personal best of 61:08 was set at the Houston Half Marathon in 2022—a Canadian national record at the time). “Good for a month out from Seville,” Linkletter said at the time.

Linkletter will automatically be selected for the Canadian marathon team unless two men run faster than his time before the qualifying window ends in April, something that seems unlikely at this point; Paris will be his first Olympics. With his time in Seville, Linkletter is the second Canadian man to have hit the standard, behind Levins, who has already been selected. “Assuming I hold my place, I’ll probably do a small stint focusing on my speed as I did before this one, which will include some track and some short road races,” Linkletter said. “Then I will probably hunker down in the summer months in Flagstaff and do a lot of hill work!”

Linkletter had his wife and two children with him in Spain. “We enjoyed the week here before [the race]. Now we are just basking in the moment,” he said to Canadian Running. “I’ve worked hard, obviously, and this was a special culminating moment!”

The 2024 Sevilla Marathon was won by Ethiopia’s Deresa Geleta Ulfata in 2:03:26 with compatriot Azmera Gebru Hagos taking the top spot on the women’s podium in 2:22:13. For full results, head here.